High Voltage Elementary: Deal or No Deal

Don’t Stuff Yourself!

We’ve all seen people who think that having nice cars, nice clothes, a nice house, and other expensive things make them just a little more important than the rest of us. That’s not an attitude that God is pleased with. Last week, the children learned the dangers of a life of greed. Using the next few verses in the same scripture passage, we will learn some important principles that, if applied, will keep us from falling into the trap of greed. There’s nothing wrong with having “stuff.” But, when your “stuff” begins to make you think you are “big stuff,” then we have a problem that needs to be corrected. That’s what we will talk about this week.
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Don’t Stuff Yourself!

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At Home Instructions

Family Devotion: Don't Stuff Yourself!Materials: envelopes and paper for each family member prepped per devotion note

Power Verse “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21

Big Idea “Live A Life Of Generosity, For Where Your Treasure Is Your Heart Will Be!”

For this devotion, you’ll need an envelope and a piece of paper for each person. On each envelope, write one of the following amounts and on the piece of paper, write the corresponding amount, and then put it in the envelope.

Envelope -- Piece of Paper

$500--$895.42

$1,000--$1,790.85

$5,000--$8,954.24

$10,000--$17,908.50

$20,000--$35,816.95

$50,000--$89,542.37

Give each family member an envelope. Ask each person to tell what they’d buy right now if they had that much money. After everyone has a turn, tell them to open their envelopes. Explain that the amount on the piece of paper is how much money they would have in 10 years if they had invested the money at 6% interest instead of spending it. Then ask the following questions:

• How much do you think the stuff you would have bought with your money would be worth 10 years from now?

• Do you think you would even still own the stuff you bought with your money 10 years from now? Why or why not?

Then have everyone in the family think back over the past couple of weeks and answer these questions:

• What have you spent most of your free time doing?

• Where have you spent the most money?

The answers to these questions tell a lot about our priorities; we tend to spend our time and money on what’s most important to us. However, God wants us to make a subtle shift in our thinking. Instead of spending time and money, He wants us to invest them. The difference in our daily lives may not be huge—we’ll still use our time and money—but the difference in the outcome is significant. By investing our time and money wisely, we’ll actually have more in the future than we do right now, whether here on earth or later in Heaven.

Think of God like an investment banker. As we give Him our time and money (and remember, He gave them to us to begin with), He takes them and multiplies them for His kingdom. The $10 we invest in a church plant not only helps to build a church but may lead to the salvation of a person who will introduce hundreds of people to Christ. Small investment, big return. The 30 minutes we invest in talking to a hurting person may result in a restored relationship. Again, small investment, big return.

Discuss whether the following scenarios are good investments.

(No right or wrong answers—sometimes some of these are good investments and other times, they’re not.)

• You use your money to buy food

• You spend time playing video games

• You buy new clothes

• You hang out with your friends

Discuss as a family whether the things you’ve been spending your time and money on, both individually and as a family, are good investments or not. How will your family benefit from these things? How will God’s kingdom benefit?

Read I Timothy 6:17-19 and pray that God will help you invest your time and money wisely.

Additional activities, especially for younger children:

  • Watch the Veggie Tales show Madame Blueberry
  • Read Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister

Don’t Stuff Yourself! Instructions

Family Devotion: Don't Stuff Yourself!Materials: envelopes and paper for each family member prepped per devotion note

Power Verse “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21

Big Idea “Live A Life Of Generosity, For Where Your Treasure Is Your Heart Will Be!”

For this devotion, you’ll need an envelope and a piece of paper for each person. On each envelope, write one of the following amounts and on the piece of paper, write the corresponding amount, and then put it in the envelope.

Envelope -- Piece of Paper

$500--$895.42

$1,000--$1,790.85

$5,000--$8,954.24

$10,000--$17,908.50

$20,000--$35,816.95

$50,000--$89,542.37

Give each family member an envelope. Ask each person to tell what they’d buy right now if they had that much money. After everyone has a turn, tell them to open their envelopes. Explain that the amount on the piece of paper is how much money they would have in 10 years if they had invested the money at 6% interest instead of spending it. Then ask the following questions:

• How much do you think the stuff you would have bought with your money would be worth 10 years from now?

• Do you think you would even still own the stuff you bought with your money 10 years from now? Why or why not?

Then have everyone in the family think back over the past couple of weeks and answer these questions:

• What have you spent most of your free time doing?

• Where have you spent the most money?

The answers to these questions tell a lot about our priorities; we tend to spend our time and money on what’s most important to us. However, God wants us to make a subtle shift in our thinking. Instead of spending time and money, He wants us to invest them. The difference in our daily lives may not be huge—we’ll still use our time and money—but the difference in the outcome is significant. By investing our time and money wisely, we’ll actually have more in the future than we do right now, whether here on earth or later in Heaven.

Think of God like an investment banker. As we give Him our time and money (and remember, He gave them to us to begin with), He takes them and multiplies them for His kingdom. The $10 we invest in a church plant not only helps to build a church but may lead to the salvation of a person who will introduce hundreds of people to Christ. Small investment, big return. The 30 minutes we invest in talking to a hurting person may result in a restored relationship. Again, small investment, big return.

Discuss whether the following scenarios are good investments.

(No right or wrong answers—sometimes some of these are good investments and other times, they’re not.)

• You use your money to buy food

• You spend time playing video games

• You buy new clothes

• You hang out with your friends

Discuss as a family whether the things you’ve been spending your time and money on, both individually and as a family, are good investments or not. How will your family benefit from these things? How will God’s kingdom benefit?

Read I Timothy 6:17-19 and pray that God will help you invest your time and money wisely.

Additional activities, especially for younger children:

  • Watch the Veggie Tales show Madame Blueberry
  • Read Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister