Holy Families Parenting Page-Dealing with Money

Holy Families “On the Same Page” – Topical Parent Resource

Dealing With Money

How do we live as “Holy Families” when it comes to handling money?

Living as holy families means we should live as God intended for us to live in every aspect of our lives. We should model our lives after Jesus, imitating him as his disciples. One of the areas many Christians and families struggle to understand is in the area of money or nances. As parents, grandparents and other in uen- tial adults in the lives of our children, we must teach them about money, model stewardship, and give them a Biblical perspective on money. He reminds us that all we have comes from him and that it is to be used wisely in a Godly way. God calls us to be good stewards, to give and to be generous in all we do. We must teach and model this for our children as well.

In Luke 16, Jesus spent some time talking to his followers about money, wealth, generosity, and indebtedness. First he told a par- able about a dishonest manager who was in trouble with his mas- ter for wasting the master’s money and resources. We are called to be wise managers of what we have been given so that we neither squander our resources nor hoard them. At the end of the story Jesus warns his disciples, “No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be de- voted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” (Luke 16:13)

Here are some practical ways to teach and model stewardship for our children:

1. Give them a weekly allowance that is age appropriate.

2. Teach them about spending, saving and giving with their allowance.

3. Create ways for them to earn extra money for extra work.

Allowance is a wonderful way to teach stewardship and how we are to live in ac- cordance with God’s word. We can begin by simply teaching our children how to set aside a portion of their weekly allow- ance for spending, saving and giving. As we model this for them, they learn about managing money, spending wisely, saving for the future and giving to the church all at the same time.

The key is to teach our children that all we have comes from God. We need to model stewardship in a way that is consistent with what God intended us to do. Living as holy families re ects our love for God and all He has done for us. It also re ects the love and hope we have for our children.

Topical conversation starters to help parents stay “on the same page” with each other and their families.

Things to Pray and Talk About:

a) Why is money so important? How does God want us to think about money?

b) What are some ways we can model Godly liv- ing with all of the resources we have?

c) What does generosity look like to you?

d) What does Jesus mean when he says we cannot serve God and money?

Asking for God’s Blessing:

God, we thank you for all that we have. Help us to recognize that everything we have ultimately comes from you: our skills, our work, our money, possessions and relationships. Give us a spirit of generosity as we seek to be stewards of all we have. Help us to live Godly lives as holy families in all aspects of our lives, including our money. We thank you for your generosity towards us. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Holy Families! Initiative © Sola Publishing, 2017 (www. solapublishing.com). Written by Marcus Carlson. Permission granted to copy for congregational and home use.

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