Sent: Sunday, September 03, 2000 10:59 PM

“Give Yourself a Generous Allowance” Religion in Daily Life By the Rev. Edward Chinn, D.Min. Rector, All Saints’ Church 9601 Frankford Ave. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19114 (215) 637-5225 Sunday 3 September 2000

A certain man had nine children. A friend asked this man how he had mellowed over the years with all those kids around the house. The father replied, “When the firstborn child sneezed, I called for an ambulance. When the last one swallowed a dime, I just told him it was coming out of his allowance.” Parents have been giving children allowances for years. An allowance is an amount of money given to a child on a regular basis. A Consumer Report survey last year showed that ten-year-olds receive about $5 a week. A December 1999 Ohio State survey found that half of American teenagers get an allowance from their parents.

Margaret Buckley pointed out that as adults we are not always so generous with ourselves as we are with our children. She suggested that adults give themselves allowances, too. Here are some of her suggestions: 1). You are allowed to follow your dream. 2). You are allowed to laugh and have fun. 3). You are allowed to like what you like and to dislike what you dislike, no matter how many people disagree with you. 4). You are allowed to have a bad day. 5). You are allowed to change your mind. 6). You are allowed not to know all the answers. 7). You are allowed, maybe even encouraged, to make mistakes. 8). You are allowed to ignore this list.

How generous was Jesus of Nazareth in making allowances for his friends! He allowed his followers to disregard kosher and Sabbath laws, even though his permissiveness angered traditionalists. He made allowances for human weaknesses, as when Peter fell asleep while Jesus prayed on the night he was arrested. He made allowances for Peter’s fearful denial and even restored him to his work as a pastor. Jesus told his friends to make allowances for the wrongs others did to them, if they expected God to make allowances for their own failures.

Giving yourself and others a generous allowance is one example of the greatest Christian word-Grace. Grace is undeserved friendship, acceptance and help. Jesus as the Son of God embodies God’s attitude of grace toward us. A former enemy of Jesus, a fellow-Jew named Saul from Tarsus, became a follower of Jesus. Saul took up the theme of the grace that gives generous allowances. Saul (alias Paul) wrote to fellow followers of Jesus these words: “You must make allowances for each other’s faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others” (Colossians 3:13, NLT).