TRAINING CHILDREN FOR FINANCIAL
RESPONSIBILITY
Our children are born into a financial
world of income, taxes, loans, creditors, investments — and even church
contributions. Sadly, few are prepared to take on the challenges of
managing their finances at all, much less according to Biblical principles.
Note some staggering statistics: Eighty-five percent of divorced couples
indicate financial problems were a contributing factor to the erosion of the
marriage. The average score for a financial I.Q. test administered to high
school students was 42%.
Does the Bible address financial concerns? Absolutely! Families, and
the church as a whole, would be better off if we managed money according to
Biblical principles. Let us note some of the principles we need to pass on
to our children.
Disposition - The Bible has much to say about our disposition
toward money. The love of it is a root of many evils (I Tim. 6:10,17).
The Bible is not a get-rich-quick guide. It warns that the insatiable
desire to have things is idolatry (Col. 3:5) Many have a strike-it-rich
mentality that demands more time and attention than spiritual concerns.
Discipline - In addition to having the right attitude about our money, we
must practice Biblical principles regarding management, and teach them to our
children.
It is time for the cloak of
secrecy to come off in our homes. We cannot expect our children to live in
a financial bubble, detached from the “real world,” and then be able to
become an adult, almost “miraculously” at the age of eighteen, navigating
through the financial maze.
It is our job - not the school’s or any other’s - to ensure
that our children have proper training in this area of life as well as in spiritual
matters. Here are some Biblical principles that we ought to be training our
children to believe and practice.
Sweating: One must work in order to to earn money. Parents do
their children a disservice by handing dollar-after-dollar to them for
years, with the child ever earning that income. It is no wonder that
employers are finding it more difficult to hire individuals with a good work
ethic (2 Thes. 3:10)
Saving: “There is precious treasure and oil in the dwelling of
the wise; but a foolish man swalloweth it up.” (Prov. 21:20). Our children
need to learn the value of both short-term and long-term saving. On the
short-term side - dishwashers go out, new tires need to be purchased and clothes
are outgrown. These are the kind of expenses that often create
difficulties as they “take us by surprise.”
On the long-term side of saving, teach your children about Joseph, who prepared
for seven years of famine - over a period of seven years - by saving. Our
children should have the same kind of conviction about saving as they do about
giving into the church treasury (and hopefully we have taught them to give).
Charles Schwab writes that the biggest mistake people make about saving for
retirement is - they don’t.
Spending: There is nothing wrong with spending. Money
management is not telling your kids, “Don’t buy anything.” Rather,
we must educate them on what it really costs to live. Teach your children
how to spend wisely (Prov. 22:7) Shop for clothes out of season, compare grocery
stores, mind the sales, etc.
Selecting: Teach your children that the idea of “some for the
Lord, and the rest for me,” is not a scriptural view of life. Help them
develop a lifelike budget, on a child’s level, that will in some
way imitate what they can expect later in life. When they receive an
allowance, teach them to give, to save, and to help pay for things they
need and want.
Sacrificing: Read Malachi 3:8-10; 1 Corinthians 16:2; and 2
Corinthians 8:7-9 with your children. Do they know what you give to God as
a family? If they don’t, would you be embarrassed to tell them?
Sacrificial giving is the best investment about which you can teach your
children. (Mal. 3:8-10).
Train your children to avoid financial pitfalls, with the focus on being a
faithful steward of all with which God blesses us.
From the Christian Courier