Ahhh...summer. Does it really end next week?! Here's a column I wrote more than a month ago. Hopefully it's not too dated to be of some benefit.
It was shortly before summer began that my husband and I
talked about re-vamping our allowance system.
We had been giving each of our children who were three years old or
older $12 at the beginning of every month.
Four of those dollars were for giving, four for saving, and four for
spending. While that system taught them
to budget their “income” (and also put an end to a lot of whining at Wal-Mart),
B.J. thought that it was important that they also learn that money is earned, not just dispensed. I was hesitant – I didn’t want them expect 50
cents every time they threw their dirty clothes in the laundry or put away
their shoes. “We’re a family,” I often
say. “That’s why we all pitch in.” But I gave it some thought and eventually came
up with our “Commission Chore Chart.” The
kids are still expected to keep their rooms tidy, pick up the toys they play
with, and help clear the table at every meal.
But when they complete a task that’s over and above their daily duties,
we mark the chart. At the end of each
week, they are rewarded monetarily for their work.
Our
older children, who are almost ten and eight years of age, do fairly well with
this system. Eager to add marks to the
chart, they practically beg to mow the lawn, clean the bathrooms, and vacuum the
van. However, it’s not gone so well with
our younger children, who are nearly six and four years old. They dawdle and whine and get so distracted
while doing the simpler tasks that are theirs – emptying the dishwasher or
folding and putting away their baby brothers’ cloth diapers – that those chores
can sometimes take well over an hour.
I could simply not reward the
younger children for their shoddy work.
To be honest, this was my approach at first. But I want them to learn to stay on task and
to know the satisfaction of a reward for a job well done. And so, I help them along, at least verbally,
but sometimes physically as well. “Let’s
start with the silverware. Here, I’ll
stack the plates for you. Do you
remember where that pan belongs?”
A
couple of Saturdays ago, as I gave each child the amount he or she had earned
for that week, I couldn’t help but shake my head. Did the younger two really earn
anything? In reality, none of their
chores would have been completed without my constant supervision. But as they pranced away to divvy their
dollars, a thought occurred to me. Their
reward is according to grace, just as mine also is.
The
beautiful, centuries-old Heidelberg Catechism summarizes this truth of
Scripture this way:
Q.
But why cannot our good works be the whole or part of our righteousness
before God?
A. Because that the
righteousness which can be approved of before the tribunal of God must be
absolutely perfect, and in all respects conformable to the divine law; and
also, that our best works in this life are all imperfect and defiled with sin.
Q. What! Do not our good works
merit, which yet God will reward in this and in a future life?
A. This reward is not of merit,
but of grace.
Q. But doth not this doctrine
make men careless and profrane?
A. By no means; for it is
impossible that those who are implanted into Christ by a true faith should not
bring forth fruits of thankfulness.
Who among us likes to hear that
even our best works are defiled sin? Not
one. But that’s what the Bible
teaches. You don’t “work for Jesus.” Neither do I.
Rather, it is the Spirit of Jesus Himself Who works in us and through
us. And it’s His own work for which we
will be rewarded when we stand before the tribunal of God. All praise be to Him for such an undeserved,
gracious reward!
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