09/12/2026
Christianity Is Good For You
A certain father was trying to teach his son the value of sacrificing for the things we really want in life. At the moment the boy could think of nothing grander than to own a BB gun. His father wanted to help, so he told the son that he would double anything that the boy saved. That sounded pretty generous and the boy began at once. Things went along pretty well for a while, and the funds grew rapidly. There was no mention of it as the funds grew to $10 saved. Not much by today’s standards, but there are some children who would have a tough time saving $10 as they rarely see that kind of money. A month or so later the father happened to think of the proposal and asked his son how much money he had saved. Hesitantly, the boy told his father that he didn’t have the money he had saved up. “I spent it for something else,” is all he could mutter. All dad could see was that his lesson in saving and sacrifice had gone up in some frivolous moment.
The father pressed the son for an explanation, expecting to hear of some trivial and wasteful purchase. “Well, Son, it was your money and if you didn’t really want the gun…” “But, Daddy, I do want the gun. I’ve even dreamed about it, but I bought a Chinese boy instead.” The obvious question was forthcoming, “How in the world did you do that?” The little boy recounted how the Sunday school teacher had informed them that they could contribute money to mission work and help save the souls of other young people just like themselves, so the little boy gave his $10 to help save another soul.
We all know who learned the greatest lesson in sacrifice that day. When a boy can teach a lesson such as this to a grown man, can we as Christians learn just such a great lesson in sacrificing? Not only our time and our money, but our very existence helps save this lost world.
It turns out that Christianity is good for you, and good for your kids. Aren’t I Captain Obvious? Well, I suppose if you have been listening too much to certain atheists it might not be obvious. Richard Dawkins has claimed that teaching children to accept their parent’s religion is a form of child abuse and suggests it’s even more damaging than sexual abuse. Interesting attention-grabbing statement—and completely wrong.
If you look at Christian families with unbiased eyes it is to see how beneficial practicing the Christian faith can be. If you need further proof, consider a 2018 Harvard Study. Researchers kept track of over five thousand youth for over a decade. Their findings? Young people who went to church and prayed were more likely to say they were happy, more likely to volunteer, and less likely to use drugs. The study’s author, Ying Chen, said “Many children are raised religiously, and our study shows that this can powerfully affect their behaviors, mental health, and overall happiness and well-being.” I didn’t need a Harvard professor to tell me that - but it’s nice when someone sees the truth.
[John 3:16; Romans 5:6-11] God sacrifices His Son for us. What are we sacrificing for Him? May we carry this same spirit over into an everyday attitude of “giving” of ourselves, and may we be encouraged to have the same diligence to show the sincerity of our love for God as we lay by in store each first day of the week.
(2 Corinthians 9:6-7) “But this I say: He who sows sparingly will reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.” The marvelous thing is that if we do this without a covetous desire, we’ll reap more than we sow. God’s shovel is just bigger than ours. Besides, all you possess belongs to God already – on lone to you.
