The Spoiled Child

'...a child who gets his own way brings shame to his mother.' Proverbs 29:15

Parents fear spoiling their children. How do you prevent your child from heading down such an unattractive path? What causes a child to become spoiled? A family living in a poverty-stricken area of the world owns a small motorbike and a refrigerator, making them the richest people in their village. The same family immigrates to a wealthy country, maintaining the same standard of living they had while in their village. They moved from affluence to poverty, for compared to the rest of their new community, they are the poorest of the poor. From this, we note that whether a person is spoiled or not doesn't have anything to do with how much he owns, rather, it has to do with the effect that what he owns has on him.

You can detect whether a person is spoiled, not by how much he owns, but by his attitude; whether or not he is grateful for what he has. Ingratitude is a sure indicator of a person being spoiled. Such people are dissatisfied with the life God gave them. They are bored and hard to please.

'...neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.'[1] Paul says that iniquity flows from the thankless heart. In your own life, look not to your standard of living, but to your gratitude, to determine whether or not you are spoiled. You look in the same place in the lives you seek to influence as well.


[1] Romans 1:21