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This is what Dreams are Made Of
Our society teaches us that the fulfillment of our dreams is the greatest joy in life. “Follow your heart!” “Believe in your dreams!” is the message of the media from Sesame Street to Disney movies. We are taught that having a good education will allow us to have a good job which will allow us to earn a good income and enable us to enjoy the benefits of financial freedom. Translated into simple English, the mainline cultural message is “work hard so that you can buy more stuff.” The bigger your appetite for “things in this world” the higher you must aspire for financial success. In Eph 4 Paul warns that Christian’s must struggle in their way of thinking to overcome the futile and constant desire for more (Eph 4:17-24). Then a few verses later, Paul exhorts Christians to work with their hands so that they will have something to share with others. With these two statements, Paul has outlined a significant challenge for Christian parents. Paul says, “work so that you have something to share with others.” The purpose of our work and our income is so that we can share with others, not spend on ourselves. We must work so that we can support our own families but beyond the basic needs, the Christian works to share with others. How can we train our children with that perspective? It will not happen in school or by watching TV. First, we as parents must adopt the view that our work is for the blessing of others rather than simply adding to our own comforts. Second, we must begin training our children to view life this way by connecting financial responsibility with sharing. Many families will train children how to save money and to give in church. Perhaps we could go another step beyond tithing to develop habits of sharing with others. Perhaps we could have our children save all year so that they could buy a present for a needy child at Christmas. Or perhaps, we could give our children extra paid chores where the money is designated to support a good cause. Being crazy Christian parents, we might even form the habit of giving away our toys to others who need them. We work so that we can share with others. Christian parenting struggles against the current of an attractive world. There is much in our society which is commendable but there is also a great deal of our social fabric which has the appearance of being “Christian” but which lacks a true Christian perspective. The Christian views the world with a perspective which is defined by God’s will in this world rather than by social or cultural priorities. Sometimes cultural perspectives are blended into our Christian worldview without careful consideration. Before parents can instill a Christian worldview, they must first rid their own thinking of non-Christian ideas. The goal of having a good job or a successful career is to allow us to help others. “Believe in that dream!”
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