Email
Print
Lesson in sharing paves way for lifelong philosophy
ADVERTISEMENT
Published: November 5, 2008
A few weeks ago, Claire, our oldest daughter, was cleaning up her room ... more or less. She exhumed a couple of old toys that she didn't play with any longer, and decided her younger sister might like them. She walked past me and my wife into Jenna's room and, in a somewhat self-important voice, proclaimed that she was giving the toys to Jenna. You could almost see her posing for the spotlight.
Jenna was ecstatic! Claire was quite proud of herself, particularly when she saw how happy it made Jenna. And amused as we were, we didn't care. Oh sure, the purpose of charitable giving shouldn't be to try and make yourself look better or score points with your parents, but Claire is only 8, and right now, we're working on the act and the habit of sharing.
The selfless altruism we're aiming for isn't there consistently, but it will come. From watching both of them, including at times when they don't know I'm watching, I think that, while far from perfect, their altruism is coming along quite well.
Too bad that lesson seems lost on so many people lately.
Like most other parents, we've done our best to teach our kids to share. From a five-cent offering at meals to giving away old toys and clothes to local charities, we do our best to teach Claire and Jenna to share. To spread their wealth.
I've heard a lot of snide remarks recently about sharing the wealth, and it truly saddens me that the term "spread the wealth" has become a term of derision, particularly among some folks who also claim to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. It may behoove them to reread the last 15 or so verses of Matthew 25, among others.
In years past, my impression is that it was a societal norm to want to share your bounty with others. I could be wrong about that, but either way, the possessiveness of wealth today blends together into a cacophony of sound reminiscent of the seagulls in "Finding Nemo."
It makes it a little harder to keep our kids on track when so many public figures and their supporters publicly decry sharing the wealth. I'm sure many of them give privately, but I believe we've seen reflected in the financial industry fiasco what happens when we rely solely on the willingness of individuals to look out for others' well-being.
But the public discussion leading up to the recent election has lent itself well to teaching moments for my children. And so far, they appear to be receiving clearly our message; sharing your fortune is the right thing to do. That's a message my wife and I want them to get. And the occasional theater that results makes it even more fun to watch.
Joe Melton is a stay-at-home dad who lives in the Lake Norman area. E-mail him at jmelt@live.com.
Email
Print
ADVERTISEMENT
Advertisement
