Of Such

"They should have all of you and not the leftovers."

OUR CHILDREN are more valuable than we are. Nothing I have is worth more to me than my daughter. She can have anything of mine. Absolutely anything.

Selfishness dominates the world. When you don’t know Jesus and don’t serve a good and loving God, when you don’t have the Holy Spirit to be your Comforter, Helper, and Guide, then your behavior gets screwy. You simply can’t justify selfish behavior – “My food and their food, I don’t want them eating what I bought just for me.” Or how about this one? “My entertainment at their expense.” They don’t get your free time? Or there’s, “Well, they have school to provide for them, so I’ll spend this money on me.”

Why? This makes my heart ache. Don’t you get it? They are a reflection of you. Who they are today, what they struggle with, is a picture of how you treat them. They should shine, all smiles and giggles. And I’m not strictly talking about the size of your income. But your attention, your humility, your generosity. They should have all of you and not the leftovers. Because a bad mental attitude, the lack of God’s love in you, will become stinginess and neglect. It will show up in your words, how you talk to them, and in our reactions to them.

READ "Live As An Example."

My daughter knows she can talk to me about anything. She’ll ask me for advice because I’ll never judge her. She has all of me. She can take anything out of the pantry and eat it. She can store things here and we will protect them and not consume them. She knows when she and I go out to lunch, that I pick up the bill. I learned this from my parents, from my aunt, and my brother. The money is nothing. Her joy is what’s important.

What does the Word say? See the blessing of Moses in Deuteronomy 28. “Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep (Deuteronomy 28:4).” And the mention of Isaac blessing Jacob and Esau, as well as Jacob’s blessing of the sons of Joseph, in Hebrews 11:20-21. See the exploding population of Israel in Egypt, where they outnumbered the native population (Exodus 1:9,12). See their children entering the Promised Land (Numbers 14:31). And the commandment to dedicate all firstborn sons to Jehovah (Exodus 13:2).

David sang of God’s blessing on children and grandchildren. “But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children (Psalms 103:17).” And in Psalm 127:3, “Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.” We read his son, Solomon’s, Proverbs about their children’s children.

“A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.” (Proverbs 13:22)

“Children's children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers.” (Proverbs 17:6)

Jesus Himself became a child and grew up, beloved of His parents. While hanging on the cross, His spoke to His mother’s care (John 19:26-27), and she was among those in the Upper Room at Pentecost. I am always so taken by His father, Joseph’s, giving up his career to live in Egypt, in a non-Jew culture. He protected the Word that was given to him. From them and His Father in heaven, Jesus commanded men to cherish their children.

“And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.” (Matthew 18:5)

“But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:14)

When we commit to give of ourselves, our finances, our time, when we make our children the priority, BETTER THAN OURSELVES, God will honor our sacrifice and provide all we need for them. We must refuse fear and guard against selfishness. Open the door and unlock the pantry, give and give and give again, until our pockets are empty and theirs are full.

“If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” (Matthew 7:11)

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay


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Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com