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Equipping people worldwide to learn, apply, and teach God's financial principles so they may know Christ more intimately, be free to serve Him, and help fund the Great Commission.
Today on MoneyLife with Chuck Bentley
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
What You Need to Teach Your Children About Money
As Christians, we know there is much more we need to teach our children. God wants them to know the financial wisdom in His Word. I'm going to talk today about key financial lessons we should teach our children. By the way, I'd love to hear about what changes you've made because of the recession. Please write me at ChuckBentley@Crown.org. There are many challenges in dealing with children and money. Families can get in trouble because of financial decisions made related to their children, such as buying a bigger house in a better school district and going deeper into debt. Financial stress created by that debt is terrible for children, and cancels out the benefits of the bigger, nicer house. Children often drive our financial decisions. McDonald’s grew by marketing to children. The first lesson about money we should teach our children is that God is the owner of everything and that they are stewards. Your children belong to God and they are accountable to Him. We are stewards of our children and have a responsibility to teach them God’s truth. I don’t think it’s good stewardship for parents to spend a lot of money on their children to go to the prom. Even if you’re providing a good memory, it can be poor stewardship. You have to make decisions about what is best for our children. They have to be taught to be good stewards. When you make financial decisions, explain it to them within the stewardship framework, trying to use what God has given for His glory. The second lesson to teach your children is who God is and why He is important in their lives. Don’t assume someone else will do it. Sometimes children don’t see in their parents why God is important. Parents must live out their faith. Children determine who God is not by what you say but what you do, who you serve. They follow the outside behaviors, because they can’t see in your heart. No Christian would say they worship money, but their actions can show they serve it. You can’t serve God and money. If you serve money, your children will serve money. If your life orbits around money, your children will too. It's important for you to teach them who God is, why He is important, and to demonstrate you worship and serve Him. The leading indicator will be how you use money. The third lesson we must teach our children is to learn to be content with the family’s resources. They will learn that by the contentment you exhibit. If you have contentment, your children will hear you praise God for what you have. You’ll have an attitude of gratitude. You’ll thank God in your prayers for specific blessings like a job, car, place to live, and food. The fourth lesson is to teach your children to work. There is nothing unprofitable about working hard. Look for every opportunity to teach your children to work with excellence. It's the key to their future success. Many children have a great work ethic if they enjoy what they’re doing like cheerleading or weight lifting, but they don’t have the discipline to work hard on other things considered less fun like studying. Children can find many reasons why they don’t want to work. I was on the payroll of a company at 13. Those opportunities don’t exist today; it’s more difficult. You need to find ways to teach children to be productive. Show them how to work hard and enjoy being a worker. The fifth lesson is to teach generosity. It's the key to teaching them how to be less materialistic. Even in Christian homes, many parents are indulging their children, giving them everything they want, no matter the cost to the parents. Children must see their family give to others and know they are expect to give, too. If a child doesn’t learn to be generous, they’ll be unhappy. Joy and satisfaction come from generosity. The sixth lesson is to teach children to be excellent at whatever they do. It's important for a child to learn what skills and talents they have and to learn to be great using them. You must help them discover what they can excel at. Show them models of excellence as they grow, especially people who are successful in the same areas your child is interested. Show them godly examples of character and wisdom. Read them stories, brag about those walking with Christ. Find them mentors who can teach them how to be excellent at something they’re interested in. The seventh lesson is to teach your children to be ambassadors for Christ in the workplace. Our children will have huge opportunities to be salt and light in the future. Whatever job God places them in will be an opportunity to impact others, and the culture. Joseph and Daniel are great examples of this in the Bible. When they were tested, they held to their faith and confidence in God. Their skills and their commitment to excellence are the things God used to have a huge influence in a hostile environment. We have a responsibility to teach our children how to stand firm in their faith and fulfill God’s purposes for their lives. We’re privileged to have children. I hope you’ve been encouraged by this message. |
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Teaching children about financesSince parents should be the primary instructors of their children, biblical principles of finance must not be neglected. |
Materialism vs. self-esteemMore children believe that their clothes and brands describe who they are and define their social status. |
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Work as unto the LordBeing God’s emissary on the job is not difficult; it’s impossible. Only by yielding to Him can the world get a glimpse of Him through us. |
Being contentContentment is knowing God’s plan for your life. Therefore, seek God’s will for your life, then trust God’s promises. |
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Other Resources: |
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I want to start today by talking about the results of a recent CNN/Money survey. Here's what the participants said:
