What are some ways to teach generosity to your children?
Dear Friends,
Abundance…generosity…grace…these are words that become more alive to me, the older I get. As I watch “moth and rust destroy ” the worldly treasures that I thought I wanted for so long, I am drawn to the eternal nature of God’s promises. He promises that treasures we put into His kingdom are multiplied exponentially and will never tarnish. How abundant and faithful He is!
I’m old enough now to see a few things generationally. Not too long ago, a young pastor in Texas, who was a college friend of my youngest son, led his congregation in a spontaneous exercise of giving to those in need in his community. In just one service, 300 members of the church gave nearly $750,000 away to care for their neighbors in need. He pastors a mainly blue-collar congregation. They gave sacrificially.
I’m amazed. When my son and that young pastor played college tennis together, there was no way to know that the seeds of character, faith, and generosity that his parents had planted in him would yield such amazing fruit. He was a good kid, but who knew that his faith and obedience and his parents’ faithful training would yield a Sunday service like that?
I believe that most Christian parents long for their children to grow up with fewer “tics”, more faith, and a stronger heart for the Lord than they have. We all know that we cannot guarantee any outcomes in our children; all we can do is plant seeds.
As you plant seeds of generous living in your children, I encourage you to remember the example that I gave in the video of eating meals together and lingering at the table. Generosity comes in many forms; money is just a small part of the puzzle. Seek to model generosity with your time, with your listening, and with your empathy. You will be planting seeds that will touch other generations and other people whose needs you will never personally encounter.
As John W. Whitehead, president of the Rutherford Institute, said, “Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see.” Training children to handle money responsibly is important to ensure the security and peace of their future families. Planting seeds of generosity into those same children is equally as important to ensure the security and peace of our future societies.
May God’s peace encourage you as you pursue financial wisdom and depend on His Truth.
Blessings,
Ron
Click here for the video transcript
Abundance…generosity…grace…these are words that become more alive to me, the older I get. As I watch “moth and rust destroy ” the worldly treasures that I thought I wanted for so long, I am drawn to the eternal nature of God’s promises. He promises that treasures we put into His kingdom are multiplied exponentially and will never tarnish. How abundant and faithful He is!
I’m old enough now to see a few things generationally. Not too long ago, a young pastor in Texas, who was a college friend of my youngest son, led his congregation in a spontaneous exercise of giving to those in need in his community. In just one service, 300 members of the church gave nearly $750,000 away to care for their neighbors in need. He pastors a mainly blue-collar congregation. They gave sacrificially.
I’m amazed. When my son and that young pastor played college tennis together, there was no way to know that the seeds of character, faith, and generosity that his parents had planted in him would yield such amazing fruit. He was a good kid, but who knew that his faith and obedience and his parents’ faithful training would yield a Sunday service like that?
I believe that most Christian parents long for their children to grow up with fewer “tics”, more faith, and a stronger heart for the Lord than they have. We all know that we cannot guarantee any outcomes in our children; all we can do is plant seeds.
As you plant seeds of generous living in your children, I encourage you to remember the example that I gave in the video of eating meals together and lingering at the table. Generosity comes in many forms; money is just a small part of the puzzle. Seek to model generosity with your time, with your listening, and with your empathy. You will be planting seeds that will touch other generations and other people whose needs you will never personally encounter.
As John W. Whitehead, president of the Rutherford Institute, said, “Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see.” Training children to handle money responsibly is important to ensure the security and peace of their future families. Planting seeds of generosity into those same children is equally as important to ensure the security and peace of our future societies.
May God’s peace encourage you as you pursue financial wisdom and depend on His Truth.
Blessings,
Ron
Click here for the video transcript
I enjoyed the video. Do they have any suggestions for your collage age young
adults
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I liked the suggestion to have the children participate in the decision of which ministries to support.
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Ron has some good points. I like the giving decisions conversation - that's a great idea. We get paid once a month and tend to give once a month as a result, but Ron does make a good point about children seeing the frequency with which we give and that being a useful reinforcement.
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