Teaching your children godly generosity this Christmas

Our God is a generous God. He showers his love on all who come to him. He gives us all the good things that we have, including his beautiful creation (James 1:17; Psalm 8:5–8). He loves us so much that he gave us his son (John 3:16). Jesus also generously gave himself, making himself nothing and taking on the form of a servant (Philippians 2:5–7). Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, God freely forgives us (1 John 1:9). Every year, as we approach Christmas, we are reminded of this loving generosity of God in Jesus.

God calls his people to be generous too, especially towards those who lack everyday necessities (Deuteronomy 15:7–8; Proverbs 19:17; 1 John 3:16–18). What’s more, he calls us to give cheerfully (2 Corinthians 9:7). As Christian parents, we also need to show our children what it means to be generous. Ephesians 6:4 (ESV) tells us to bring our children up ‘in the discipline and instruction of the Lord’. It is God’s instruction for his people to be generous with what he has given us, and Christmas presents a particularly helpful time to model this to our children.

Giving presents generously

For most families, presents are an important part of Christmas celebrations. They also present an opportunity to demonstrate generosity. As your children grow beyond their first few years, they might see presents as an expectation—something they are entitled to. Your generosity towards your children might become taken for granted. As a result, it’s important to help them to see that these are God-given gifts that should be received with thanksgiving. One way to do this might be to thank God together as a family on Christmas morning before you open any of them.

When buying gifts for your children, you likely already set a budget. Perhaps this year you could reduce that budget by a set amount and donate those dollars instead. Even better, you could get your children involved in the process. One way to do this is to, look together at the website of a favourite charity and choose how you might give generously. Many charities, such as the one I work for, Compassion, run a Christmas appeal or offer gift catalogues where you can give a specific gift to a family living in poverty for a set amount. If your children are younger, let them pick out something that they want to give. If they’re older, you could tell them the budget and let them allocate it themselves, even adding more from their own pocket money if they choose.

Another option is to limit gifts for your children and tie those you do give back to the nativity story. For example, some families choose to give gifts symbolically linked to the gold, frankincense and myrrh given by the wise men to baby Jesus. A gold gift is one of great value to the recipient; a frankincense gift is one that encourages spiritual growth, like a Bible or devotional; and a myrrh gift is one for physical care like clothes, perfumes or lotions. This is similar to the classic gift-giving format of ‘something you want, something you need, something to wear and something to read’, but it has the advantage of bringing the nativity story into your family tradition.

As parents, you also have a wonderful opportunity to model self-sacrificial generosity at Christmas. If your children are old enough to buy presents, or even if they are simply old enough to understand, you could suggest that instead of buying you a Christmas present, they give that money away instead. It is helpful to talk about generosity, but there is real power in showing your children what it looks like to give up something you would like for the sake of someone else.

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Living as neighbours generously

When I was in my early twenties, I went with a friend to the CBD of Sydney for the day. We took the train to Redfern (historically a low socio-economic area) and as we exited the station, there was a homeless man sitting by the archway asking for money. Barely pausing our conversation, my friend reached into his pocket, pulled out all the change he had and gave it to the man without a second thought.

I was struck by this at the time, but I thought about it long afterwards because of how insignificant it was to my friend. To me at the time, parting with any money required serious consideration, especially if it wasn’t clear to me how it would be used. I would never have given to that man because I was suspicious of him, his circumstances and how he would have used it. Yet that day, my friend taught me that we can and should give freely. God doesn’t call us to audit the poor but to give generously to them.

If you are with your children (or without them!) and pass someone who is homeless on the street or outside a shopping centre this Christmas, let me encourage you to give generously. You could choose to buy them some food rather than give them money, but chat with them first and see what they actually need. What you want to show your children is not just that you will give money generously, but that you will give your time and attention as well. After all, this person is not just an object lesson; they are your neighbour.

Your immediate next-door neighbours may also offer an opportunity to show godly generosity. Perhaps you could surprise them with a Christmas present. If they are without family or friends this Christmas, then act generously and invite them to be part of your celebrations. You could extend this same generosity to anyone else in your neighbourhood or church who might appreciate sharing Christmas with someone.

However you choose to teach your children what it means to be generous this Christmas, now is the time to start planning. You can and should make the most of unexpected opportunities in the days leading up to Christmas itself, but by considering the options now, you’ll be able to involve your children in seeing where the needs are that you can meet with your generosity. As you do so, pray for yourself and your children that God will give you generous hearts that are shaped by his great generosity towards us in Jesus.

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Andrew Barker is the Communications Lead at Compassion Australia and lives in the Southern Highlands of NSW with his wife Amelia and their two young children. He is a passionate writer who is striving to bring his children up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

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