Teach Your Children About Generosity
Generosity is giving more than is required. Some people are naturally more generous, but if not it’s ok. Generosity is something that can be learned. It takes practice, like training for a sport and the more we practice, the better we become at giving generously.
We want to teach our children to live for the Lord in all that we do, and being a cheerful giver is pleasing to the Lord. So how can we teach our children generosity, when for many of us, our flesh is naturally bent towards selfishness? We will take a look at our own examples, then explore what the Bible says about generosity and how to teach it to our children.
Teaching Children Generosity – Our Example
We need to lead the way in generosity to help foster a heart of generosity in our children. So it’s important to examine your own heart first. Pray to the Lord and ask Him to show you how you are doing in this area.
This can be a scary thing to pray! I know for myself, I struggle with being generous. I am not naturally inclined to giving, and I have asked the Lord to help me grow in this area.
Ask yourself the following questions:
- What is my attitude and beliefs about giving?
- What was I taught or how was it modeled for me as a child?
- How do I feel I am doing in this area?
- Why might it be difficult for me to give?
- Am I being a good example for my children in this area?
As you grow and develop a heart of giving, your children will too. Next, we will explore what the Bible says about generosity so that you can talk about and teach these biblical lessons to your children.
Teaching Children Generosity – 5 Biblical Truths
1. God is Generous
Generosity is an attribute of God. He created the world and gave it to us to enjoy and take care of. He also gave us the greatest gift of all, His only Son, to die and take the weight of our sins for us. We want to follow God and be like Him. God’s generosity is an overflow of His goodness and love. He gives abundantly, overflowing and continually. He is not generous one day, and stingy the next. He is always good, and always generous.
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
James 1:17
2. God Owns it all
Everything belongs to the Lord. He owns it all. When we realize this truth, we hold our money, possessions, time and life with open hands instead of tight fists.
We surrender ourselves to Him because He paid a price for us. We realize our life and all our things are not ours, but His.
We want to take care of what He has given us and be wise with them because they are His, and at the same time hold them loosely, not clinging to things of this world. Trust God enough to provide. He always does.
Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom.
1 Chron 29:11b
3. God Loves a Cheerful Giver
God freely and generously gives so much to us and that is how we are to give to others. He does not want us to give out of obligation, but out of joy and gratitude. Joy that overflows because of His love and provision for us. Check the motive of your heart and ask God to transform it to being a cheerful giver.
7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
2 Cor 9:7
4. God Blesses Generosity
God promises over and over that He rewards generosity. He says He will give abundantly and overflowing what we give. If we sow abundantly, we will reap abundantly, but if we give sparingly, we will reap sparingly. God rewards generous people, but it doesn’t count if you give to get. God loves a joyful giver and one who gives without expecting in return.
Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”
Luke 6:38
5. Giving Shows Love
Giving is a tangible way to show love for others. One of the ways God shows His unconditional love is by giving good gifts to us and we are to emulate Him by showing love to others through our giving.
Jesus taught people that if God takes care of the birds and flowers, how much more will He take care of His special creation of man.
He tells us in Luke 7 that God loves us so much He knows the very number of hairs on our heads.
And in John 3:16 we know that God loved us so much, He gave us His only Son to die in our place, a death that we deserved.
God doesn’t always give us everything we want or ask for. He gives us what is best for us and what will glorify Him. We can trust Him to meet our needs.
He may still bless us with possessions and gifts. We can use what God gives us to bless others and share God’s love. In this way, we are also glorifying God. Showing love is what giving is all about.
16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17 But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
1 John 3:16-18
Teaching Children Generosity – God’s Wisdom
Teach your children to be generous by talking to them. Teaching generosity to your children in everyday moments are a significant way to raise up generous disciples of the Lord. Here are ways to give your children practical applications and godly wisdom in giving generously.
1. Teach Empathy
One of the greatest ways to teach generosity in everyday moments is to teach children empathy. Talk about what it would be like to walk in someone else’s shoes. Show them the needs of an individual vs. a group of people, which can be harder to identify and empathize with.
One practical way to do this is to give to a ministry that has child sponsorship. Our church works with missionaries in Haiti, and recently partnered with Promise Child.
We are sponsoring a little girl and we have her picture on our fridge. They gave us information about what she likes about school and also some of her health needs.
We have talked about how some of the children were eating out of the trash before the orphanage was opened. We also discussed our sponsored child and how tough it must be not to have mom or dad around. We pray for her, ask others to pray for her and plan to send letters and pictures.
2. Get Out of the Way
Another practical way, is for us parents to get out of the way! This may sound blunt, but we often unintentionally prevent our children from giving generously.
We may think that their gift is unpractical, like a son giving money to grandma. But allow their hearts to give generously. It is much easier to guide our children as they get older on ways to give pragmatically than it is to develop a giving heart.
3. Practice Sharing Toys
Another great way to teach children generosity is having them practice sharing on a regular basis with their siblings and friends. Siblings give us endless opportunities to learn how to share. Encourage your children to share their possessions at an early age.
Teach children to ask for a turn when they want something instead of just grabbing and taking it away.
When one child asks to use another’s toy, teach your other child to say ‘I’ll give you a turn in two minutes.’ This gives the child playing with the toy time to finish with what he’s doing, and teaches the other child to wait patiently for his turn.
Then once two minutes have passed and it is the other child’s turn, the first child could ask for another turn if he wants it. The new child with the toy can then reply the same, “I’ll give you a turn in two minutes” reply.
They can go back and forth like this, each having two minutes with the toy until one of the children is done playing with it and has moved on. This is
Then if he wants another turn, he can ask the other child for a turn, and that child can tell them in two minutes. The toy is shared every two minutes with each toy.
4. Give Away Toys
Also practice giving away toys regularly. Go through toy bins and books on a monthly or quarterly basis and encourage children to give some of their things away to others who may be in need.
This is a great way to declutter and teach children to give at the same time, a win-win! Set a boundary or parameter on their possessions, for example if a toy bin gets overflowed they can only keep an amount that fits in the bin and after that they have to give away what doesn’t fit.
5. Give to Church
Last, but not least, teach your children to give to church on a regular basis. If your children have an allowance or get money for birthdays and holidays have them give an offering of what they earn or receive to church. Also, check out my blog post about teaching children about money.
Teaching Children Generosity – Loving Them
Share with and be generous with your children. Generosity is one of God’s greatest ways He shows His love for us. We can show God’s love and our love to our children as well by giving.
We enjoy giving to our children because it gives us joy to see their happy faces. Being generous, does not mean we need to be buying them new things all the time. I’m not talking about spoiling children.
I’m talking about being generous with our time and loving them unconditionally. Be present, put your phone down, and actively listen to what they are saying.
Take time to play with them or do something they enjoy together. Putting our phone down and actively listening to them.
Give them a special note in their lunch or share a favorite snack with them. Give them gifts that are good for them. Enjoy them and cherish every day.
