Stewardship, it’s a word we don’t use much anymore.
When we hear it, most of us think about money and tithing in the church.
However, stewardship is sooo much more. It’s about investing our time. It’s using our talents for God’s glory. It’s about service and sacrifice.
As you help your kids begin to learn the importance of stewardship, help them see that a steward is a manager and God desires us to manage well what HE has entrusted to us.
If you’re hoping to jumpstart a conversation about stewardship with your children, here are some tips from James R. Doty, director and founder of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford University, who worked in collaboration with GoFundMe on its Parents Guide.
” A steward is a manager and God desires
us to manage well
what HE has entrusted to us.”
Model Stewardship:
Live by example. Show your children by your actions what it means to be a good steward. Let them see you in action: sponsor a child, hold the door for people, volunteer at a charitable organization etc.
Talk, often. You have the advantage of age over your children. You’ve seen and heard about the world, but they only know what you’ve allowed them to see and hear. Kindle a passion within in them for service and compassion for people in the world. Make them aware of how privileged we are to live in the US. Find topics and discuss with your children how they might feel and ways in which “you” can help.
Start your dialogue early. The earlier you can start the conversation with your child, before he or she encounters learned behaviors such as identifying differences and biases, the easier it is to make an impact on your child, Doty explains. He says that after the age of three, children start to become more attuned to differences.
Keep the discussion going. And…
Keep Living Out Loud
in HIM, terry