In Elementary School we would sell cookie dough every year as a fundraiser. The administration would gather the entire school into the gymnasium for the fundraiser representative to explain to all the students about the fundraiser and the rewards that could be received for the students bringing in the greatest revenue.
The representative would stand in the midst of the students showing glow in the dark glasses, gift certificates, limousines, pictures of pizza parties, and bounce houses. This led to wild cheers from the student body and immense excitement about the possibility of great things to come. Only one problem stood in their way – their parents. Children’s fundraisers typically mean massive amounts of work or money from the parents. Moms and Dads carrying fundraising magazines to work, church and ballgames, harassing all their family members and friends. Knowing most parents bend over backwards to accommodate their children in such matters the truly greatest obstacle was making sure the fundraiser information actually got into the hands of the parents.
This guy was genius, though! Every year he would say something like this, “Think of the thing your parent uses the most and stick it there! Maybe inside their laptop or by their cellphone charger. You can stick it in the fridge or on the steering wheel of the car. Whatever it is your parents use the most, make sure to stick it there.”
Now that I have kids of my own I often wondered about this illustration. If my kids were in school and were presented with such a task, where would they place their fundraising paper. Since we homeschool, and I’d never get a chance to know, I decided one day to just ask my oldest. “What do you think is the most important thing to mommy? What does mommy spend the most of her time on? Who does mommy love? What’s mommy’s favorite song? What does mommy like to watch the most?” Fast forward a few years and I still randomly ask my kids variations of these questions, because they can be more honest than I can be with myself.
What I want my kids to see is that I love Jesus, I love spending time with Him and them, I love reading His word, I enjoy our family time, I like to sing hymns, I spend time praying, I love others no one else will. Those are the things I want them to see and know, but sometimes our perceptions are not theirs. The honest mouth of babes is also a good heart check too.
The bible teaches us in Matthew 6:21, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” What we place importance on, what we spend time on, will manifest itself without us every having to declare it. Your kids and my kids will know if our phone/ computer/ tv is more important than time with the Lord. They will know if ballgames are more important than church. They have a sense for knowing that mama desires justice more than reconciliation. They can comprehend if mama respects daddy and honors him in their house or if she’s set to have her own way. They can feel love and rejection. Their perception is probably the most important one. God doesn’t perceive what’s in our hearts, He knows! But our kids can’t know, they only perceive. Where would our kids say our treasure lied today. Do they know our hearts and minds are set on things above or do they think we are more concerned with this world. If you want to know, just ask!