A group of people that are standing in the grass

What Every Kid Needs to Know About Greed and Thankfulness

If you are committed to teaching your kids how the world operates, teach them about money. You can use financial principles to teach everything from math problems to social issues. That’s because money is about values, relationships, choices, and self-worth.

A group of people that are standing in the grass

While teaching your kids important values to guide their lives is of the utmost importance, when all is said and done those values are more likely to be caught than taught.

You have to live what you teach. Walk the talk. Teach by example.

If there is one thing that will ruin your kids’ lives, it’s greed. Teach them while they’re young how to pull the plug on greed, and you will have prepared them in a very important way to not only survive but also thrive in the real world. You might want to start with this lesson:

Lesson: How to Defeat the Enemy Greed

As you get older you are going to discover an enemy that everyone has to deal with at some time in his or her life.

This enemy isn’t like the bad guy in your video game or the bully at school who tries hard to make everyone scared and miserable. Even though you cannot see this enemy, you can defeat it by the way you live and by the choices you make.

This enemy is “greed.”

What is greed?

The feeling of wanting everything you can think of is called greed. Greed is not a good thing. In fact, it’s like a very bad disease. It starts small and if allowed to grow it will take over your life.

Greed will make you a very miserable person.

Greed causes temper tantrums and makes people self-centered and arrogant. Greed is very sneaky.

What greed feels like

You know that twinge of envy you felt when your best friend showed you her cool new phone? Or when another friend said really loud at lunch how his dad is buying him a brand new car for his 16th birthday?

How about the day you find the new Christmas Catalog in the mail—the one with every cool thing in the whole wide world. You want every single thing in it.

Multiply that feeling by 10 and you’ll have a good idea what full-blown greed feels like. It’s not good.

The problem with greed

The problem with greed is that it drives us to do things that are hazardous to our futures. Greed says it’s OK to have everything we want now and to figure out how to pay for it later. Greed whispers in our ears telling us lies that make us unhappy with what we have, where we live, or who we are.

Greed is something everyone has to deal with and the sooner you can learn how to defeat that enemy, the better off and happier you will be.

The antidote for greed

Antidote is another word for solution or treatment. The antidote for a terrible ear infection is antibiotics. The antidote for greed is to be thankful for what you have already, not always wishing and hoping for things you do not have.

You prove your gratitude when you are willing to give away part of the “3 Ts”―your time, your talent, and your treasure. Everyone, no matter how young or poor, has some of all three.

Time

You get 24 hours every day; 1,440 minutes or 864,000 seconds every single day! No more; never less. You can’t save some of that time today so you’ll have more time tomorrow. How you use your time every day is a reflection of your character.

Talent

This is what you can do. Everyone has special talents, things they are good at doing. There are things you can do easily that others have a difficult time achieving. It’s your talent and you have been blessed with it. It doesn’t make you better than others, but it makes you unique. You are one-of-a-kind.

Treasure

This is what you have; your possessions. It’s your money, but also your toys, game systems, clothes, collections—everything that you own.

Become a giver

If you have never been a giver, it may seem quite odd for me to suggest you should just give away any of your time, your talent, or your stuff. But that is exactly what I mean.

If you want to make sure you are never defeated by greed, learn to be a giver.

When you give to others it helps you to be grateful for what you have. Giving is the way to stop feeling sorry for yourself. Instead of misery, you feel joy. In place of dissatisfaction, you find contentment.

Give your time

The way you give of your time is to volunteer. There are lots of ways kids can volunteer to make their communities better. Here are some ideas:

  • Help a younger child to read.
  • Help cook or serve a meal at a homeless center.
  • Pack and hand out food at a local food bank.
  • Visit senior citizens at a nursing home.
  • Plant flowers in public areas that could use some color.
  • Clean up and bring toys you don’t play with anymore to a hospital.
  • Babysit for free to help a single parent.
  • Bake cookies and bring them to your local fire or police station.

Give your talent

Think of ways you can do those things you’re really good at to make someone else’s life easier or more enjoyable. Perhaps it’s your church or school. It might be helping your grandparents understand their new smartphone or washing windows for a neighbor in only the way you can do that. You are amazing!

Give your treasure

Giving away part of your money and other possessions is quite simple. Observe a need, then do something about it. You can give to a homeless shelter, to a family going through difficult times, to your church or another charitable organization.

Become a giver. It will greatly improve your life.


 

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8 replies
  1. Jack says:

    People also need to know that just being generous with your time is good for greed. Forget baking as the above mentioned, as it is such a crazy world now, this action is extremely difficult for a Boomer as we were sold on selfish, quantity, and not having enough.

    Reply
  2. Jo says:

    WOW, This is an eye opener! I never thought I was greedy, just thought I wasn’t good enough, educated enough etc. to have the bigger home.
    Don’t know if links are allowed, but this (from a church in N.C.has enlightened me lately.
    https://www.charlottestories.com/local-charlotte-church-released-christmas-video-thats-going-viral-4-million-views/?fbclid=IwAR1eW_nbQ1p37h_GJRuYIQObZma2WFSp_6pS1WdRZ-5Kjz3Qy7W3SLWdVBE

    Reply
  3. Maria says:

    Although baking cookies to give to your local police and fire departments sounds like a wonderful idea, in the world that we live in today, they may toss your baked goods in the trash for fear that they are contaminated. We are no longer allowed to sell home made baked goods for school fundraisers anymore.

    Reply

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