Do you have great kids? I’m sure you do, just like I do! There is a piece of a mother’s heart that always seeks and strives to see great things in our children. There is nothing wrong with that and is a powerful way to encourage and challenge our kids to be the best they can be.
What constitutes “True Greatness”? Here is a quote and some highlights from a recent article from Home Life magazine:
“True greatness is a passionate love for Jesus Christ that shows itself in an unquenchable love and concern for others,” Dr. Tim Kimmell.
This article touched on four characteristics that place focus on others. One of my greatest challenges is to teach my children to think of others. Selfishness is deeply rooted in each of us at times. Teaching and training your child to practice these characteristics (and practicing them yourself) will keep us growing in Christlikeness and love.
Humility: Do we take the best seat, parking place, first place in line? Christians are challenged to walk in humility, considering others as more important than themselves. Teach children through everyday examples to let others go first and always consider the feelings of others to encourage humility in their lives.
Gratefulness: Do we show thankfulness for every day blessings? Does our attitude convey a spirit of gratitude and contentment? We can comment often how grateful we are for our home, warm bed, food. We can practice thanking our family for help, hard work, etc. Teach children to write thank you notes, find something to be thankful for in every circumstance to cultivate gratefulness
Generosity: Sharing is never easy, but it is the right thing to do. Our children can learn to be generous by being encouraged to hold things loosely, to give cheerfully whether it is money, time, or the ability to share their talents.
A Servant Spirit: Real servanthood is accomplished by doing something that can never be paid back. Some examples can be helping the elderly, the grumpy, the poor etc. This is an eternal investment where we learn to do these things not to be recognzied, but for God’s glory. Teach your children to serve others with an attitude of love, give to people who can never repay, and show inititiative by being on the look out to take care of things that need to be done.
By daily practicing these traits, they will become engrained in our hearts and expressed through our actions and “caught” by our children. May we aspire to become and produce children of “true greatness.”
Beautiful post, Joyce! We should all be striving to raise children of “true greatness”. Imagine if we did what a difference it would make in this world!
great information…my daughter is going to turn two..and I am going to start instilling these things in her as soon as possible!