Sadly, in an effort to please and demonstrate our love, we actually end up inadvertently hurting them…particularly around this time of year. Let me quote 1 Timothy 6:6-11. Then, let’s dissect it for lessons we can learn around Christmas time. “Godliness with contentment is great gain. We brought nothing into the world and we can take nothing out of it. If we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness.” Around this time of year, the discussions with my children begin to change and focus immensely on material gain. “Mom, so and so is getting this. I want this for Christmas. Why can’t I have…? Mom, I’ll be so happy if I get…” These types of conversations leave me in concern and prayer. I want my children to understand the value of being content with what they have, but simultaneously, I don’t want to deny them gifts and make them feel unloved in a commercial world that feeds them the lie every day that Christmas is a time to spend enormous amounts of money buying people you love gifts. How can I protect them from focusing so much on loving things that I set them up to be plunged into “ruin and destruction” as the verse states later in life?“ I believe this verse holds incalculable wisdom, because I have observed both personally and through the lives of public figures what can happen to people who set their sights on material gain in an effort to gain happiness. I can testify that for the love of money many indeed do foolish and harmful things. I have observed even in myself how much I have sought certain things of specific monetary value. I have dreamed and obsessed over acquiring some “thing” only to be left dissatisfied when the wait is over and the present is opened. Within a few weeks, I have bored of the “thing” and set my sights on something new, only to end up with closets full of stuff that offered a moment of joy and ultimately end up in a landfill to pollute our earth. On the flip side, there are a few special gifts that stand out over the years that really meant a lot and still remain meaningful to this day. What I am trying to say is I don’t believe it is the presence or absence of gifts/money that makes us happy or unhappy. There is nothing wrong with getting/giving gifts at Christmas. However, I think we should realize the truth of this verse that the best gift we can give our children is the lesson of contentment. Real gain is found when no matter what you have, you are at peace and filled with joy. Success in life is gained when we don’t believe the lie that some “thing” will make us happy. We need to ask God for wisdom to teach our children to not love “stuff” but rather to love Jesus and to be cheerful even if they don’t get presents. I remember one Christmas growing up very vividly. My parents, affluent people who had always generously lavished us with presents, decided we were too spoiled and needed a life lesson. They informed us that year we would not be getting presents.
