Spoiled Rotten

I admit it. I spoil my boys sometimes. I give them more than they need or perhaps even deserve to have. Take last night, for example. Last night found me out at Toys R Us. What would I be doing out at Toys R Us less than 2 weeks after Christmas? It wasn't to make returns. It was to buy a new Wiggles video. For those of you not familiar with the Wiggles, they are an Aussie superband for the toddler set. For those of you who remember the 60's, a comparison to the Monkees is not inappropriate. Only the intended audience is about ten years younger.

My guys love the Wiggles. They got their first Wiggles DVD for Christmas, and they have watched it non-stop. They love to sing and dance with all the songs. And so last night we were at Toys R Us for the sole purpose of finding new Wiggles DVD's. Now I have to admit that part of my motivation was selfish. If I had to listen one more time to the Wiggles DVD that we already had, I could not have been held responsible for what my actions would have been. I needed to get new DVD's so at least there could be some rotation of Wiggles songs. But my sanity was not the only reason I was at Toys R Us. I was also there because I love to see my guys happy. I love to give them gifts that I know they will enjoy.

I bring all this up because of what Jesus says in Matthew 7:11. "If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" (NIV). We do know how to give good gifts to our children. You don't have to be religious to do that. Even your average raging pagan loves his or her kids. And that is Jesus' point. If we who are evil know how to spoil our children, how much more does a God who is righteous know how to spoil His! Jesus says as good as we are at giving good gifts to our kids, God is even better.

As a child of God, I like that thought. I like the fact that God is as ready and willing to give good gifts to me as I am to give them to my boys. And as I think about that, I know that God has given me good gifts. He has given me a wonderful wife. He has given me two precious sons. He has given me a sufficient degree of material comfort. And, most of all, He has given me His very self through Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

I may like to spoil my boys. But I am only an amateur compared to God.