Money, Money, Money.....Money!

My family and I typically go out to eat Sunday after church, often to Olive Garden (my wife's favorite). Last week, as we were finishing up our meal, our waitress came by and told us that a gentleman from another table has paid for our bill because "he had never seen so many, well behaved children" - I have 4 kids. We had never met the man, but he simply chose to bless us.

Then again, later in the week, my family and I went to DayBreak Cafe (a local joint), where once again someone picked-up our bill (this time we knew them from church). What a powerful blessing once again! I took the 2nd opportunity to share with my kids what had happened to let them know what kind of testimony they were being when they were well behaved.

Then I ran across THIS video. There are some points that need to be made about money and how to teach your kids about it:

1) Your kids will learn about money more by what you DO than what you SAY. It's part of legacy living - they will learn from YOU about how to manage money. If you don't do it properly, they will not do it properly either.

2) The purpose of money is the same purpose that the rest of our lives should be - to be fully living for Christ and sharing his good news with others (especially our kids). If we teach them how to manage money, but to manage it for the purpose of gaining wealth and possessions, we miss the point.

3) Keep clear lines between money managment via God's Word versus how the world teaches about money. Often times, these lines can become blurred: retirement, saving for college, etc. It can all get rather messy.

Keep the purpose in mind: TO PRODUCE GODLY DISCIPLES OF YOUR CHILDREN. The point is not to raise millioners, sport stars, rich politicians, or even good citizens of the country. Everything we do with our kids and everything we allow them to do should point back to the goal.

Dean