I’m pretty sure that the “It’s-MINE!!” chorus will the be one of the loudest in my ears over the next ten years.
It will probably develop into the it’s-my-phone, or the it’s-my-sweater song, but for now it is the most pronounced when it comes to dolls, legos and art supplies.
And with both of my girls (the youngest definitely learning from the oldest) it has turned into an excuse for disobedience.
“Girls, please straighten up the bathroom,” as I look at the tub toys on the floor, the toothpaste on the sink and the hair bands in different arrays of boy-scout knots all over the counter.
But “It’s MINE” one of them says to me referring to the actual ROOM in question.
The other one asks with honesty, “It’s ours, isn’t it? The bathroom, right? You and Daddy have yours…”
Sigh. “It is yours, sort of. Mommy and Daddy own the house and all the things in it and we allow you access to them. We let you HAVE them in a sort of borrowing way.” It’s too difficult to explain right now.
“Yes and no,” I finish. “Either way, you need to clean up your things.”
Their bathroom, their bedrooms aren’t theirs. They are ours, as parents and caretakers. We are responsible and we are owners. We allow our children to own things that have come directly from us. All of what they “own” was originally ours purchased by our own money.
And the parallel just begs and screams to be highlighted.
All of what we have comes from God, right?
Our money, our homes, our children even are from Him. The common misconception is that we owe God something. Even the word “owe” connotes the idea of repayment. We don’t need to repay God ANYTHING.
Because, simply stated, we can’t repay Him.
How could we repay God for all of what He’s given us? With all the resources we have we could never repay Him for His gifts: life itself, grace, adoption. And all of what we have is directly from Him as a loan of sorts. We are stewards of physical gifts and also stewards of his grace, love and hope here on earth.
And we can never, never repay Him. We can’t OWE him because the debt it too great.
The same way I loan my daughters the use of their bathroom. It is theirs for all intents and purposes, to use and take care of and live with, but in reality it belongs to their parents.
They don’t owe us. In all the elder-caretaking they might have to do in the future, they can never repay us for all of the time, money and energy we’ve loved them with. That’s just how it works.
So I ask them to give back to me just a little of what I’ve given them: the energy to tidy up the bathroom.
God asks us to give back to Him what is His already. When He asks us to give it is simply to allow Him to help us use what is already His.
He owns my money. He owns my time and He owns my heart. So I MUST give.
Because in the end, all we have, including clean water and warm beds, it all belongs to Him. All of it.
He’s just letting us use them for awhile.
What is the most difficult thing about giving? How do you decide where to give?
Hello Sarah! This post reminds me of something a family friend said to my husband and me, “Children are homeless people who I, (parent), allow to stay in my house.”
As for your question, the hardest thing about giving for me is the thoughts of where will it, (whatever I give, money, food, clothes, time), go and/or will it be used for its’ rightful purpose?
smooches,
Larie
I can remember my parents saying to us, “You are guests here. Invited guests to be sure, but guests nonetheless.” And I remember thinking they were so mean. But now, I see the wisdom in that concept … for we are all guests here. Invited, beloved guests in this amazing world fashioned by the Great Host. How much does it change our mindset when we view ourselves in that framework … cherished, precious company invited to partake in all the wonder and beauty that is His alone. And yet He shares freely and completely with us.
i think i want to use that one. =)
After a few hard years on the edge of poverty you tend to look at things differently. You see God provide basic needs again and again and He becomes your Jehovah Jireh. When you are at the bottom and look up and see only his loving hands reaching down to you, you realize that you are nothing, you have nothing. It give “the stuff of life” a whole new perspective.
I think time and my attention/focus are the hardest for me to give wisely. Definitely helps to be more organized, but getting down to it, actually ‘doing’ is the harder part for me. I look at how spread out I am in responsibilities, things others are dependent on me for, when I should be looking at it all as gifts and where am I gifting my time and energy–certainly more should go to my time with God in the Word and in prayer, in memorizing His word, and in making memories with my family. I could never repay what I owe, to my family or to God, but you’ve shared with me that I can absolutely ‘invest’.
Thanks sweetie, have blessed week!
My time. Definitely my time. It’s the one thing I still cry “It’s Mine!” over. Mine to fill as I wish. Mine to waste. Mine to spend doing the things *I’ve* deemed important. I forget that my time is as much God’s as are my children, my husband, my money.
The most difficut thing about giving is having the rescources – both money and time – to do so. Our little family of three lives on less than $6000 a year, so I have always had to be creative in finding ways to give beyond the tithe. And that gets into the struggle of having time to give. My youngest was sick for five years and now my oldest is disabled. Caring for children with special needs requires a lot of time. So, I have had to keep my eyes open and purpose to give in small moments those things the people around me most need. I have also had to realize that helping a senior citizen to the car or holding the door for someone on crutches or holding the hand of a toddler who was going astray on the way to the car, all of these are giving. The hardest thing, then, would be keeping my eyes open and sharply focused to the need around me instead of becoming so wrapped up in my own that I am blinded to the needs of others.
i think those are the most important things to give – our attention. very well put, tricia. =)
I think my biggest thing here is I think I deserve everything. But I’m human, I make incredible mistakes and do sinful things. Nothing I could do would make me deserve God’s gifts…that is where I need to remember that everything I have is a gift. Given to me by a loving God that choses to give things to me for the sole purpose of loving me- NOT because I deserve it. Unconditional love.
Excellent analogy. I remember telling my kids that everything they had was not really theirs. I have a hard time with holding on to the things I’ve “earned” when it’s really not about me, it’s about Him and the gifts I’ve been given. There is a pride in giving that should not be there; nothing is really mine in the first place.
I think the hardest part of giving (even though it isn’t ours, it’s been stewarded to us while we spend a minute moment on this gigantic dirt sphere) is the giving up. It’s my lunch. It’s my package of cookies…as I try to avoid looking at the homeless guy on the street.
The hardest thing for me is to practice what I ahve preached to my kids…and doing what God wants us to do. It is all God’s and we need to give with joy. That’s what I preached, but it is the hardest to “Do”
Great stuff, Sarah. And in some ways, that takes the pressure off, doesn’t it? What if the car breaks down? Is the world ending? No, it’s not my car to begin with.
But in another sense, it calls us to a stewardship far greater than mere ownership. Imagine carrying an exquisite $2000 vase you’ve just purchased through a bustling street market. Pretty scary. Now imagine you’ve picked it up for a friend who plans to present to the queen that evening. Even more nerve-wracking, at least for me.
We have this treasure in jars of clay…
Another bullseye Sarah. You continue to amaze me with your insight.