Pray for Toys
14/03/08 10:41 Filed in: Deep Thought
We
dropped Hailey off at the DART yesterday
leaving me with the kids for the afternoon. I asked
the kids what they wanted to do - go to Grandma's
house, play in the park, get a bite to eat... Eoin
pipped up, "Lets go to the toy shop!" Now I love the
toy shop as much as the next guy but the kids had
just received a ton of presents from their Grandma
and felt they didn't need more toys in their lives
just now. I explained this reasoning with the kids to
which Eoin responded with little reflection, "I need
lots of toys!"
Every bone in my body cringed. I'm always fearful of how consumerism effects the development of my children and hearing signs of greed creep into my sons cries for more didn't exactly encourage a trip to the toy shop. So I spoke up, "No, you have enough toys Eoin. Did you know there are some kids in this world who don't have any toys? Perhaps we should think about giving some of our toys to them? God doesn't want us to have too many toys."
What followed next was my first theological argument with Eoin, my three year old.
Eoin: "God wants me to have loads of toys!"
Dad: "Noooo, God wants us to love other people."
Eoin: "God...."
Dad: "What toys do you..."
Eoin: "I'M TALKING TO GOD DAD!"
Dad: "Oh"
Eoin: "God... Can I have loads of toys?... I can!... Thanks God!" "God said I could have loads of toys Dad!"
At a certain point you realize it's not the battle worth fighting and you think up other ways to explain God's heart to your kids. But I'll be honest, his method of prayer didn't seem all that different from my own at times or from friends of mine. So often we come to God with wish lists, pray the prayer and then step back for results. How often have you asked for God to give you something? I'm still praying for that Nintendo Wii.
Now I do believe that God still performs miracles, that God still works in this world, moving hearts and oceans but I don't think he's willing to engage this world alone. He wants partnership.
Here's what I mean. The Bible says we should to pray continuously. What I understand this to mean is not that we sit in our rooms with our heads bowed or even that we walk around never talking to anyone but God. Rather, I think Paul was talking about our posture towards life. Prayer is tied to God's heart for this world and we get to pray unceasingly when our hearts start to beat like God's. Prayer is about partnership in God's mission for this world. When we start to care for others or become generous we're joining in that mission. And when we step out in faith, we find we have little choice but to pray. I watched a Rob Bell DVD the other day and he put it this way, "Don't ask God to feed the hungry if you have plenty." His point was this: to pray that prayer would be to stand apart from God's heart for this world, like someone on the sidelines of a football game. Prayer only makes sense when you're actually in the match.
Now, I just have to figure out a way to communicate that thought to Eoin...
Every bone in my body cringed. I'm always fearful of how consumerism effects the development of my children and hearing signs of greed creep into my sons cries for more didn't exactly encourage a trip to the toy shop. So I spoke up, "No, you have enough toys Eoin. Did you know there are some kids in this world who don't have any toys? Perhaps we should think about giving some of our toys to them? God doesn't want us to have too many toys."
What followed next was my first theological argument with Eoin, my three year old.
Eoin: "God wants me to have loads of toys!"
Dad: "Noooo, God wants us to love other people."
Eoin: "God...."
Dad: "What toys do you..."
Eoin: "I'M TALKING TO GOD DAD!"
Dad: "Oh"
Eoin: "God... Can I have loads of toys?... I can!... Thanks God!" "God said I could have loads of toys Dad!"
At a certain point you realize it's not the battle worth fighting and you think up other ways to explain God's heart to your kids. But I'll be honest, his method of prayer didn't seem all that different from my own at times or from friends of mine. So often we come to God with wish lists, pray the prayer and then step back for results. How often have you asked for God to give you something? I'm still praying for that Nintendo Wii.
Now I do believe that God still performs miracles, that God still works in this world, moving hearts and oceans but I don't think he's willing to engage this world alone. He wants partnership.
Here's what I mean. The Bible says we should to pray continuously. What I understand this to mean is not that we sit in our rooms with our heads bowed or even that we walk around never talking to anyone but God. Rather, I think Paul was talking about our posture towards life. Prayer is tied to God's heart for this world and we get to pray unceasingly when our hearts start to beat like God's. Prayer is about partnership in God's mission for this world. When we start to care for others or become generous we're joining in that mission. And when we step out in faith, we find we have little choice but to pray. I watched a Rob Bell DVD the other day and he put it this way, "Don't ask God to feed the hungry if you have plenty." His point was this: to pray that prayer would be to stand apart from God's heart for this world, like someone on the sidelines of a football game. Prayer only makes sense when you're actually in the match.
Now, I just have to figure out a way to communicate that thought to Eoin...
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