# 188 06/02/03 The things money buys never really satisfy

One of the three concepts that we must teach our children about materialism is that money and the things that money can buy never satisfy. A foundational scripture for this concept is Ecclesiastes 5:10a in which King Solomon wrote, “Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income.” Because King Solomon had such vast wealth, he could be considered an authority on materialism!

There are two very important things that parents can do to help children see that “stuff” does not satisfy. Of course, it is important that we model anything that we want to teach our children. This includes how we approach the buying of material goods.

First is a technique that I call “research.” Whenever my children wanted to spend money I always required that they do research. Their research included brand comparison, cost comparison, use analysis and a waiting period. I realize that it is stretching the point to consider a waiting period as a type of research. I defended the requirement, saying that we should research to see if we still want the item after the initial interest has died.

My children resisted this technique. They still tease me about how long it takes me to make a decision to buy something, especially if it is a major purchase. However, I have noticed large file folders of “research” lying around in their homes!

The second technique is having a discussion about items that have been purchased in the past. It is a good idea for children to clean out their toy boxes before they will be receiving more toys. For instance, choosing toys to give to the needy at Christmas teaches sharing at the same time that it decreases clutter. This would be a good time to casually discuss how things do not satisfy. You might say, “Do you remember how much you wanted this Game Boy? When it was new, you played with it all the time. It was not long before you lost interest and wanted something else. You know the Bible says that when we love things of the world we are never satisfied. Do you understand why things like a Game Boy can only make us happy for a short time? What are some of the things that can make us happy for a long time?”

If our children learn that material things do not satisfy, they will be spared many years of useless striving.