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Training, teaching and having your children learn how to manage their
personal finances and how to handle their money

Training your Children in the Area of Finances
by Dianne Becker

“Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” Proverbs 22:6 (NIV)

This is a scriptural principle that applies to every area of life including finances. As parents we can train our children to be cheerful givers, to trust God to supply their needs, and to be generous in giving.

As a child, I was taught to save and taught to give. My Mom and Dad gave me a metal can to keep my allowance in. For every dollar I received, ten cents was put aside for Sunday School offering. I loved to take my money on Sunday morning and put it in the Sunday School church bank. I felt good inside as I dropped my coins into the bank. If I forgot my offering, I felt very sad and I knew that God was sad too. I know now that God loves a cheerful giver and we have taught our children the same. II Cor. 9:7b (NIV)

When our oldest son, Stephen, was a child he attended a mission conference with us and put a few dollars in the offering plate. This was all he had, but it was a simple act of obedience in response to a call to give. We were proud of his response, but couldn’t return the blessing to him at the time, because we were about to depart on a mission trip. (We also realize, now, that we were not obligated to “play God.”) While we were gone, Stephen stayed with his grandparents and earned $170 doing yard work. I was amazed at God’s abundant blessing. The Bible says, “Give and it shall be given unto you. Good measure, pressed down, and shaken together and running over shall men give into your bosom...” Luke 6:38 (KJV)

As a child, Stephen learned the joys of giving and that God does supply our needs. Today, as a young adult, Stephen continues to be a generous giver. God has blessed him with a comfortable job that pays well. In addition, he receives an annual bonus that is more that half his annual salary. Stephen has learned the secret of giving and God has blessed him abundantly in his generous heart to give.

Giving into the Kingdom of God is one of the most important things we can teach our children to do. It will cause them to reap a blessing today and reap an abundant harvest for many years to come. What better heritage can we pass on to our children than Kingdom giving?