We're rich.
At the end of the 'season of giving' (also known as 'the season of spending'), I find myself saying "that's a little too expensive" and "we can't afford that right now" a little more than usual... and yet it occurs to me that those kinds of statements are not unusual at any time of the year in this one-modest-income-household.
I wonder, then, what the cumulative effect of those kinds of statements are on my children. We obviously don't talk about money with them (the boy can only count to 13, the girl can only count past 39 with prompting), but surely they are picking up on our philosophy of money even if they don't understand the units. And surely a language of "we can't afford it" and "it's too expensive" leads to a view that we don't have enough, and perhaps even that what we do have should be held with a tightly clutched fist. If they believe that "we need every penny", how will they learn to give a penny when it is needed by another?
And yet this language of impoverishment is far from the truth. We may only have one car, but we have a CAR! We may rent our home, but we HAVE A HOME! We may not have a retirement account, but WE HAVE ENOUGH. And so my new parenting resolution (I will not allow it to be classified in the too-easily-dismissed category of "new years' resolution", even though it is the beginning of a new year), is to specifically and deliberately tell my kids how rich we are.
I'm telling them there are many in the world who don't have any food at all, and yet we have food and snacks EVERY day. We are SO RICH that we have enough food for everyone in our family, and lots left over to share. We are so rich that we have a car we can share with others if anyone needs a ride or to borrow a car. we are rich enough to pay for insurance in case anything happens with said car.
We are so rich that not only do we have all we need, but we have tons of luxuries - like glitter glue and a CHOICE of which shoes to wear in the morning. And so we will not complain about sharing our glitter glue with friends or about not having an extra pair of brown shoes. Because we're rich enough not only to own glitter glue, but to have a choice of colours. We are rich enough to heat or cool our house when the world seems too cold or hot for us. We are rich in what we have. We are rich in WHO we have: more friends than we could even fit into our house.
And that's not even counting the riches we have in Christ (Ephesians 1:3-14), which make everything else pale by comparison.
So I'm being intentional. I'm being deliberate. I'm sending my kids into the world with the message "we are SOOO Rich!", even though it might raise some eyebrows. I'm reigning in the "we can't afford that language" and trading it for "look at all we have!" Because really, we do. We are rich enough to give. We are rich enough to share. We are SO incredibly blessed and rich that we dare not eat one meal without giving thanks to the One who richly gives us all things.
Yours in abundance,
-B
I wonder, then, what the cumulative effect of those kinds of statements are on my children. We obviously don't talk about money with them (the boy can only count to 13, the girl can only count past 39 with prompting), but surely they are picking up on our philosophy of money even if they don't understand the units. And surely a language of "we can't afford it" and "it's too expensive" leads to a view that we don't have enough, and perhaps even that what we do have should be held with a tightly clutched fist. If they believe that "we need every penny", how will they learn to give a penny when it is needed by another?
And yet this language of impoverishment is far from the truth. We may only have one car, but we have a CAR! We may rent our home, but we HAVE A HOME! We may not have a retirement account, but WE HAVE ENOUGH. And so my new parenting resolution (I will not allow it to be classified in the too-easily-dismissed category of "new years' resolution", even though it is the beginning of a new year), is to specifically and deliberately tell my kids how rich we are.
I'm telling them there are many in the world who don't have any food at all, and yet we have food and snacks EVERY day. We are SO RICH that we have enough food for everyone in our family, and lots left over to share. We are so rich that we have a car we can share with others if anyone needs a ride or to borrow a car. we are rich enough to pay for insurance in case anything happens with said car.
We are so rich that not only do we have all we need, but we have tons of luxuries - like glitter glue and a CHOICE of which shoes to wear in the morning. And so we will not complain about sharing our glitter glue with friends or about not having an extra pair of brown shoes. Because we're rich enough not only to own glitter glue, but to have a choice of colours. We are rich enough to heat or cool our house when the world seems too cold or hot for us. We are rich in what we have. We are rich in WHO we have: more friends than we could even fit into our house.
And that's not even counting the riches we have in Christ (Ephesians 1:3-14), which make everything else pale by comparison.
So I'm being intentional. I'm being deliberate. I'm sending my kids into the world with the message "we are SOOO Rich!", even though it might raise some eyebrows. I'm reigning in the "we can't afford that language" and trading it for "look at all we have!" Because really, we do. We are rich enough to give. We are rich enough to share. We are SO incredibly blessed and rich that we dare not eat one meal without giving thanks to the One who richly gives us all things.
Yours in abundance,
-B
posted by Bronwyn at 3:47 pm
1 Comments:
Love, love, love!! Very true, and very inspirational- I will join you in your efforts this year!
Love, your very wealthy friend :)
Post a Comment
<< Home