Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – August 19, 2016
I have never seen the righteous begging bread. They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be blessed. Psalm 37:25-26
Children are blessed by parents who seek to live right, and in living right, they are generous with their time, money and resources. So I have to ask myself, “Do I care for my children well and at the same time generously care for others?” Good parents plan ahead to involve their child in service to others, so family concerns do not become a competitor to following Christ. For example, a couple may be a guest in your home—and as you love and encourage the mom and dad, your child can help by playing with their new friend. Children are blessed by God, when their parents model generosity and when they show generosity to others.
David describes righteous parents as always generous: with a little, they are generous—with a lot, they are generous. Systematically they are generous to their church and to other ministries—spontaneously throughout the day, they prayerfully look for ways to give to others. Not only do generous parents give aggressively, they lend freely—perhaps a very low or no interest loan to help a person buy a house or start a business— in some cases they are a creditor, but in their heart they treat it as a gift. Children are blessed when they see generosity in large and little ways.
“You will be made rich in every way so you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God” (2 Corinthians 9:11).
Why does our generosity bless our child? Because generosity illustrates God. Our heavenly Father gave His only Son Jesus, so we could be saved from ourselves, from our sin—and be restored into intimacy with our Creator. Our generosity is an outcome of our gratitude. When over and over again our child pictures their parents praising the Lord for their salvation and hope in Him—they tend to value their relationship with Christ. Generosity moves us to God’s heart. Children are God’s gift who can learn how to gladly and gratefully give generous gifts from God.
How does your generosity bless your child? When the joy of giving is learned as a child there is a higher probability the child will grow even more generous as an adult. Adolescent habits are hard to break—good or bad. Because selfishness is a sneaky serpent that entices every teenager—God’s greatest remedy is generosity. A generous giver lifts their eyes off themselves to gaze on another’s needs. Instead of demanding to be served—generosity serves. Instead of always taking—generosity looks for ways to give. How can you bless your child? Be radically generous.
“He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly” (Acts 10:2).
Prayer
Heavenly Father, lead me to love my children well by modeling generosity.Application
What family can my family generously bless with our time and money?Related Reading
Deuteronomy 15:10; Proverbs 11:25; Acts 28:7; Romans 12:8Post/Tweet today
Our generosity is an outcome of our gratitude to God. #WisdomHunters #blesschildrenWorship Resource
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