Friday January 6, 2023

1 Timothy 6:6
Now godliness with contentment is great gain.

The stress of economic difficulty darkens many a home. I am not now thinking of the fact that many people are poor and live in very modest circumstances. That in itself need not darken their homes. But I am thinking of this, that many parents do not have the courage to tell their children that they are poor. The children have therefore no idea of how meagre the resources of the home are. And when they see how well their companions are dressed and what expensive amusements they indulge in, they demand the same.

Then many parents do one of two things:

Either they refuse to give their children these things, but do not dare to give the real reasons for doing so—at which the children become irritated and feel that father and mother are doing them an injustice.

Or they give their children these things, though they know that they cannot afford to do so. They would not have their children inferior to their companions.

The family debt mounts, and the unhappiness of both the parents and the home increases. This is, no doubt, the situation in more homes than we suspect.

How entirely different it would be if parents would acquaint their children with their economic situation! Let your children know how much you have to live on for the month or for the year. Figure out for them how much there will be for clothes and how much for amusements.

Yes, some say, but is it not too early to darken the lives of our children with economic worries at their age?

Try, and you will see! You will not deprive them of any of their joys. On the contrary, you will be giving them something very valuable: a sense of responsibility. And with it a new joy, the joy of helping father and mother make both ends meet.

You will also be giving them something more valuable than amusements and fine clothes. You will be helping them toward contentment. And those who receive a legacy of this kind begin life with a wealth of riches.

O. Hallesby, God’s Word for Today: A Daily Devotional for the Whole Year, translator Clarence J. Carlsen (Augsburg, 1994)
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.