My youngest son Matthew burst into the house after a long day in first grade and announced, “Hey, I know you’re the Tooth Fairy!” Assuming that “That Kid” had spilled the beans to all the naïve first graders, I asked, “Who told you that?” He proceeded to explain to me that he figured out that I was the tooth fairy because some kids in his class got $5 when they lost a tooth and he only got $1. I was busted.
I told Matthew that for him, $1 was enough. Yet we do find ourselves parenting our children today in a culture that says bigger is better and having a lot of stuff makes you really happy. The culture says that thirty-two Web Kins certainly makes you much happier than two of them and $125 boots brings joy to your life like a $20 pair just can’t.
But that’s not what God says. He says, “Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income…” Ecclesiastes 5: 10-12
Don’t we want our kids to have enough? If we do, then God says that they can’t “love the stuff.” If we want them to be grateful for every good and perfect gift, they can’t be looking to find their joy in their stuff.
One thing that makes this lesson difficult to teach is that as moms, we love to give our kids abundance–more than just enough. Christmas morning is certainly exciting and a special birthday party can often be cherished for years, but a child will not even recognize these as abundance if they never have had a grasp of enough.
As you take a more critical look at the culture and the lies it pours out, how do you define enough for your family? What limits do you put in place so that your child will recognize abundance? How do you keep from feeling guilty because you opt out of activities or purchases that everyone else seems to be making?
Yes, Matthew, $1 is enough for a tooth. And with the loss of 80 baby teeth in our home after the last 15 years, the tooth fairy has saved $320 that was used to feed the family rather than for super balls and some gum; and you, sweet boy, understand enough. ☺
I Know You’re the Tooth Fairy
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