Each year at this time I begin to approach the holidays desiring to impart in my children what it means to be thankful and to focus on the true meaning of Christmas and make sure we do not put too much emphasis on what we "want" for Christmas and more on what we can do for others. We always explain that we have been given the greatest gift of all. It will never break, wear out, or get old. JESUS!
Today our focus is "God supplies our need"
Many times I hear in my kids what we don't have, rather than what we do. Covetousness is an intense desire to possess things we do not have, which usually are things we cannot afford. We take our eyes off the blessings God has given us when covetouseness is given a place in our hearts.
An attitude of covetousness can creep into our hearts quickly. It makes you believe your clothes, toys, house is not as nice as the ones someone else possess. Or you complain to someone; "It's just not fair - everybody else got a new (fill in the blank) for Christmas!"
We need to be able to be happy for our friends when they have something we would enjoy having. There might be a time when we will have the same things, but if it never happens, we still have a long list of wonderful things to be grateful for.
Covetousness must not be allowed in our lives. It is like a cancer that begins small but grows to gigantic proportions. Jesus said the best way to overcome a spirit of covetousness was to realize that "one's life does not cnsist in the abundance of the things he possesses" (Luke 12:15) It consists in a relationship with Christ.
2 comments:
When my kids were much younger, I decided not to ask them what they wanted for Christmas. I figured I could guess the things they'd like. This habit of not asking has helped us through the many "tough" years when things were not as abundant as other times. We always made giving lists instead. We'd write names of people we would like to bless with a gift (we have even done this when money was scarce). Even today when relatives ask them what they want for Christmas, they look like bewildered deer.
Hey Chris...I still write 'Thankfullness Lists' and tack them each month on my fridge. The kids even come up and remind me to put things on them now. I list every blessing, from someone buying me a cup of coffee, to someone sending us away for a weekend! The idea is, that as we ( and the kids) saw how blessed we already were, it helped us not feel so much like we were always lacking. And it worked...my kids have slowly stopped complaining about so many things..and starting praying more about what they need. They can 'see' by the list on the fridge that God supplies...And yes..it even works going into Christmas!
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