Teaching Children About Money Is About so Much More

While I developed a strong work ethic and began earning money from a young age, I didn’t begin learning how to manage money until I had mismanaged a lot of money. When I was in my mid-20s, God used my unintentional reenactment of the Bible’s parable of the prodigal son to draw me into a relationship with Him and give me a passion for learning about and teaching others how to manage money from a biblical perspective.

Ever since, I have found money fascinating. Mostly, what I’m drawn to is not the spreadsheet or calculator side of money, but the spiritual side, the emotional and psychological side. And, given my slow start to the whole money management thing, I especially love teaching kids about money.

Raise up a child… That’s why I’m so grateful for the opportunity to have written, Trusted: Preparing Your Kids for a Lifetime of God-Honoring Money Management. I’m endlessly excited about the opportunity to come alongside parents to encourage and equip them to foster within their kids healthy, biblical financial perspectives and practices. I like to think about a young child who develops a strong work ethic from a young age. She learns to work hard, to do jobs well, and with a good attitude. And she comes to be motivated by the truth that she’s “working for the Lord” (Colossians 3:23), that she’s been “given something to do that shows who God is” (1 Corinthians 12:7, MSG), and that her work is an important vehicle for seeking the peace and prosperity of her community (Jeremiah 29:7).

I like to think about a young child who develops a heart of compassion for the poor, widows, and orphans. A young child whose heart breaks for what breaks God’s heart and who expresses that compassion through generosity. I like to think about how God could multiply that child’s impact over his lifetime, and not just through the financial investments he makes in addressing some of those needs, but in how his generosity impacts his relationships and the joy with which he lives.

When teaching children about money, we would be wise to keep these big-picture perspectives in mind. We’re not just teaching them to give a portion, save a portion and then wisely spend what remains. We’re helping them love God by following his teaching and we’re pointing them down a path of using money effectively, joyfully, and as a powerful expression of their faith in Christ.

Open hands

The opportunity to write “Trusted” came about through a completely unexpected email I received from the head of publishing at Focus on the Family in December of 2020. For several years, I felt like God had been putting a desire on my heart to help families teach their kids a biblical approach to money. But I wasn’t quite sure how to do it. I had been thinking about it and praying about it. And then that email arrived, seemingly “out of the blue.”

The publishing industry can be tough. Most books sell very few copies. So, I’ve been grateful for numerous media opportunities that have opened up because of my relationships with Focus on the Family, Tyndale House, and of course, Sound Mind Investing!

There was this opportunity to talk with Jim Daly and John Fuller. Visiting Focus on the Family was somewhat surreal because of the many years that I have taken in content from the ministry and how important their teaching has been in my walk with Christ. It has informed my wife’s and my marriage, our parenting,  and so much more. There was this opportunity to talk with Janet Parshall. Honestly, I felt a little intimidated going into the conversation. I know what a strong stand she takes on various issues. I found her to be an incredibly quick thinker, very well-informed and prepared for our conversation, and disarmingly warm and encouraging. There was this opportunity to talk with Rob West of FaithFi, a long-time friend of SMI. I love Rob’s passion for seeing people become ever more faithful in their use of God’s resources. And there have been many other opportunities to be on podcasts and have excerpts from the book published on various platforms (including as the cover article of the April issue of the SMI newsletter).

Return on investment

Promotion is an inherently awkward activity. I hope what comes across is gratitude for the opportunity to have written this book, a passion to encourage and equip parents to help their children get on a good, God-honoring path with money early in life, and a great hope that through it all, God will be glorified.

Earlier I mentioned my unintentional reenactment of the Bible’s parable of the prodigal son. It involved receiving a $60,000 inheritance from an uncle and turning that gift into $20,000 of credit card debt.

Someone once asked me, “If you had invested that $60,000, do you know what it would be worth today?” He meant it as a joke, but even if I did the math, it would pale in comparison to all that I gained through that experience. And any child who is helped in his or her lifelong journey with money because of Trusted will be a wonderful further return on that $60,000 investment. image used with permission