Recently two different young men, both fathers of young children, commented to me about my children. My kids are now all adults, married, and doing well, for which I thank God and their mother! These two men were noticing things about my children and the people they’ve become.
No family is perfect. All of us have our flaws. But as I reflected on their observations about my children and how they were reared, I thought about some of the values that we instilled in them. With so much emphasis today in the news being on debt, both personal and national, it behooves us as parents to do all we can by word and example to help our children not only appreciate money, but how to handle it.
When Nathan was twelve or so he was taken to the bank to open a savings account. He had begun to cut grass, and we knew that if he was going to keep from going through his earnings buying baseball cards, he needed some guidance. So, first he was taught that ten percent of his earnings were to be given back to God. That would leave him with 90%, and of that one half needed to be put into his savings account.
A couple of years later when his account had a balance of $1000, I took him to the bank to withdraw it. By now, he had purchased his own lawn mower and with a donated and rebuilt trailer and help from his parents with transportation, his business had branched out significantly. But, the miniscule interest rate he was earning in a passbook savings account wasn’t enough.
We set out to teach him something about being a good steward, sort of like Jesus parable on the talents in Matthew 25. Two of the servants wisely invested what their master had given them, saw their investments reap dividends and were rewarded. One, however, afraid to take a risk with his master’s money, foolishly buried it in the ground. As a result, what he had was taken away and given to the other servants. On top of that he was punished. Investing is for the future and Jesus gave it His implicit approval.
On his behalf I had done some shopping for CD rates at the local banks and found that a different bank than where he had his savings account offered the best rate. So, one day we drove to the bank and he withdrew $1000…cash money. I wanted him to hold $1000 of his own money in his hands for the 5 minutes it took to drive to the other bank. His eyes got big; especially when he began to think what he could do with that thousand. But he didn’t spend a penny of it. He invested it in certificates of deposit, with a substantially higher interest rate.
A year later, when it came time for the CDs to mature, we went back to the bank and once again he withdrew the $1000 plus interest, and after talking to the financial advisor at the bank, put his money into mutual funds. Fortunately for him, this was in the late 90’s and some of his funds were earning 20% interest and better!
He continued to put earnings into these accounts with the discipline he had been taught. And by the time he graduated from high school and set out to college his funds totaled more than $20,000! That’s a lot of dinero from cutting grass for an 18 year old. By the way, along the way he had purchased his own truck, a new, larger trailer, a riding mower, weed eater, blower…all the tools needed to grow his business…a business he continued through college.
The money he had earned, saved and invested, along with scholarships paid for his college expenses.
Our girls followed suit. They didn’t go into business for themselves, but both found summer employment early on in high school, and with their savings bought their own cars when they were ready to drive. Gail and I did not buy them. In fact, I remember teaching Rachel how to change the oil in her first car so she could save money.
What were some of the lessons they learned?
• If I want it I need to work for it. We believe a good, honest work ethic is both Christian and American. There were no entitlements in our house.
• When I purchase something with my hard earned money I’ll take better care of it. Ask Nathan sometime about learning the importance of having oil in your lawn mower engine.
• Do a little bit more than I’m expected to do by my boss or customers. Good service might result in greater reward. Bad service will result in loss.
• Everything I have is God’s. But I honor Him with a tithe.
• If I save and wisely invest, God’s money in my hands can grow and be useful in my future. You work hard for your money. Let some of it work for you.
• The more I have, the more I can give to God. That’s not hard to figure out, and should be motivation enough for the Christian to be a good steward.
Like most everyone else, I am naturally concerned about the direction of our economic system. Unless our society as a whole, not just our government, but our citizenry learns those same lessons, we’re sunk. We have recently witnessed in the UK what happens when a generation has not learned to work, save and invest, but instead depends on the government to meet its needs. A culture believing they are entitled to be cared for by others is in so many ways contrary to a Christian work ethic.
I believe that for the most part, how to handle money is passed down from generation to generation. Therefore, as parents we need to take the time to teach our children that money is not evil. Living for money is the cause of all kinds of evil. But at the same time, living without money because of wasteful spending or no plan for saving for emergencies or the future is being a poor manager of the master’s resources. Teach them to give generously to God. And let them see you practicing what you preach.
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