Teaching Kids That God Owns It All With Ron Blue
The beginning of wisdom is fear of the Lord. The beginning of wisdom about money is that God owns everything. We’ll talk about how you can teach that important concept to your children with financial teacher Ron Blue today. Psalm 24: 1 declares, "The earth is the Lord’s and all its fullness the world and those who dwell therein. Ron Blue is founding director of Kingdom Advisors and the author of many books on personal finance from a biblical perspective. In his book Raising Money-Smart Kids Blue emphasizes the importance of teaching children that very basic principle, that God created everything and owns everything. But that isn’t possible unless parents first understand it. Parents need to not only grasp that concept, but also model it for their kids. And the Bible couldn’t be more clear about it. Haggai 2: 8 records God's own words: "The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine. " In the parable of the talents, Jesus said, The kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. " Any reading of the Scriptures will lead you to the inescapable conclusion that all resources come from and belong to God. And of course that means that we own nothing. We only hold what God gives us for a time. How do you first teach that to adults, to parents? How many times have you seen a hearse pulling a U-Haul? Job said it this way in Job 1: 21, "Naked came I from my mother's womb. And naked shall I return. " We come into the world with nothing, and we will leave the world with nothing. Whatever we have to use in the interim belongs to God, whether a little or a lot. Someone asked John D. Rockefeller's accountant if he knew exactly how much Mr. Rockefeller had left when he died. The accountant replied, "Certainly, to the penny. He left everything. " So how do we teach that God owns everything to our kids? It starts with modeling that attitude. Model prayerful financial decision making. Model an attitude that says, "I’m responsible to handle God's resources because they don’t belong to me, and He has all the rights. " Show your children that you control financial resources instead of being controlled by them. In other words, illustrate your own freedom in the area of money and money management. TITHING AND GIVING Blue writes in Raising Money-Smart Kids that tithing and giving is probably the most significant way to model the truth that God owns it all. Anyone who truly believes that God owns it all will freely give, with the tithe being merely the beginning point of giving. One way to do this is to have family times when giving decisions are made. Periodically, sit down with your children and evaluate giving opportunities that may come your way. Make decisions about particular needs and how much to give to each one. Blue said he required his kids to tithe from their allowances and gift money, but their generosity grew from there, and they learned that God does own it all and that the tithe is a recognition of God's ownership, not a return to Him of "His share. " HOW TO TEACH THIS PRINCIPLE TO CHILDREN First, if you haven’t already, commit to the Lord to give up ownership of His resources: money, your home, time, or other resources God’s entrusted to you. Second, give regularly as God has prospered you. This will communicate more than words the truth that you believe God owns it all. Your children, in turn, will catch that truth. Third, as you’re confronted with the needs of the poor, the homeless, missionaries, the church play a part in meeting those needs. It may be why God entrusted some of His resources to you. And fourth, when your children are very young, require them to tithe so that tithing and giving become a habit. That way they’ll recognize that they’re returning to God a portion of what He’s entrusted to them. Those four things can free you and your children from financial bondage. For more information, check out Ron Blue’s book Raising Money-Smart Kids. On today’s program, Rob also answers listener questions: ● Is it wise to use 401k funds to pay off a car earlier? ● Can you do a pension rollover to an IRA? ● What can you do to get the best possible return on investments and saving for college? ● Should you name a beneficiary when purchasing I-bonds? RESOURCES MENTIONED: ● SavingForCollege. com