Integrating the Faith at Home: Managing God's Wealth

In this series on integrating the faith at home, I focus on practical ways for parents to ground their children in a God-given, Christian identity. When understood correctly, this identity should influence all future life choices. I believe that our identity in Christ should be the foundation on which we stand when we consider the topic of money. As responsible parents, we should teach our children to manage money, save, and spend wisely. But as responsible Christian parents, we should teach our children that all money comes from God. We are but managers of God’s good gifts. So let’s move forward this week as we integrate the faith at home by managing God’s wealth.

THE FOUNDATION FOR UNDERSTANDING MONEY IS OUR IDENTITY IN CHRIST

I want my child to be rooted in his Christian identity. In my home, we say the words, “Because I’m a child of God, I am loved, chosen, forgiven, and redeemed.” My family talks about this identity and how it makes us different from most people who walk through this world. We see the world in a way that others do not. We see ourselves and our purpose in life in a way that others do not. To understand money as God intends, we must stand on the foundation of this identity.

Everything that we own is God’s. God the Father created all things. He made each of us with unique skills and talents. With his blessing, we use these skills to serve in the world. We enter a vocation of our choosing and serve others while receiving an income to provide for our families. Yet this income is not ours alone. We should not think of it as “what I earn,” but “what I am given.” All of the good gifts in our life come from God. When we think of our income as God’s, and we consider ourselves as managers, we approach money with a different attitude than that of the rest of the world.

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE HAVE TO SAY ABOUT MANAGING GOD’S WEALTH?

Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth.
Deuteronomy 8:17-18

No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
Matthew 6:24

Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the first-fruits of all your produce.
Proverbs 3:9

“Every tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is the Lord’s; it is holy to the Lord.”
Leviticus 27:30

Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
2 Corinthians 9:6-8

One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?
Luke 16:10-11

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
1 Timothy 6:10

WHAT DOES THE CULTURE HAVE TO SAY ABOUT MONEY?

We live in a culture of consumption. Society tells our children that they need more…of everything. They need more clothes, more toys, more electronics, and more “stuff” in general. There seems to be this impression in our culture that when you have more, when you finally attain a generous pile of “stuff,” you’ll be happy. The big house, the boat, the name brand shoes, the fancy car, the land, the newest phone…whatever it is….when you finally get the things that you’ve been wanting, all problems will just melt away. But that’s not true, is it? It’s a wildly exaggerated lie.

To combat this lie, our children need to know where happiness and security actually come from. Our children need to know that gratitude can be present in any situation. You can be grateful when you have much or you can be grateful when you have very little. Our gratitude is not dependent upon the stuff that we possess. In fact, I would venture to say that when you have very little, you are perhaps more grateful for each and every thing that you have. Those things have more weight. They feel more important. When you already have a pantry and a freezer full of food, that full grocery cart doesn’t seem as significant. It’s still a blessing, but it’s perhaps harder to see it as such when scarcity isn’t known. The point is not that we should all be poor, but that we should all find gratitude, no matter the circumstances. It may indeed be harder, the more “stuff” that we possess.

GIVE FIRST, BUT HOW MUCH?

I grew up in a family that tithed, but when I entered the workforce as a Lutheran school teacher, I found that I didn’t know how to give. I was living on a modest income with a hefty pile of student loans. All my bills were paid each month, but then I found that I didn’t have much left to give to the church. I always gave something, but the truth is that it was nowhere near a tithe. Biblically speaking, a “tithe” is ten percent. It’s meant to be “first-fruits” giving. I was giving my leftovers and I didn’t know how to do any better.

This is important. This is perhaps the most important thing we can teach our children about money. If everything we have comes from God, if we are just managers of what is God’s, then we should give first and live on the rest. God is very clear in the Old Testament that ten percent should go back to him. This is not just law. It’s not about meeting a requirement. I believe that it measures the state of a Christian’s heart. To give first, one must trust the Lord completely. There must be trust that God will provide for all needs, even when ten percent off the top is gone. When we give first, we put God above money.

In our human nature, it’s easy to hoard. It’s easy to keep money, because we find our security and safety in our savings account. But this isn’t what God wants from us. He wants our security and safety to be found in him. Money does provide for our needs, but it should not be where we place our trust. If it is, money has become our god.

HOW MUCH?

Some Christians argue that a tithe is an Old Testament law that has no weight in the New Testament church. They say that since Jesus came to fulfill the law on our behalf, we are no longer expected to meet such requirements. When you ask such a Christian how much we should be giving to the church in place of that ten percent, there’s generally a blank stare. They don’t have an answer. My husband is a Lutheran pastor. I like his response. “Regarding money, why would God expect any less from us in the New Testament church than he did in the Old? The money is still God’s. Everything that we have is still a blessing from God. Why would he expect that we return less?”

If anything, I encourage Christians to give more. Give with an open heart. Give graciously and generously. Help one another. Serve the church. Let God’s money build his kingdom. It all stays here when we die. We may as well make use of it while we can, and there is no greater purpose than helping and serving others while building God’s kingdom. Managing God’s wealth is a gift.

A FEW WORDS ABOUT TRUST

When my husband and I got married, we found that we had more than $80,000 in combined student loan debt. We quickly settled down to pay off that debt. While doing so, we lived small….uncomfortably small. We made massive debt payments and had little left over for our groceries or other needs. All the while, we maintained a tithe at church. To do so, I saw my own heart grow. You have to have a great amount of trust to write a check to the church, and then not know how the rest of your needs might be met. But graciously, the Lord provided for us every single month. We always had what we needed. It was sometimes uncomfortable. I was often afraid. But God grew in me a level of trust that he could not have planted if I’d been hoarding money for myself.

Years later, when we lost all of our possessions to toxic mold, my family moved into an empty apartment with one trash bag of clothes and a few grocery sacks of food. My family slept on the floor for months. We bought only what we could afford at the time. We made a list of our priorities from most important to least. At one point, a couch was at the top of our list. My husband said to me one day, “When can we buy the couch?” We’d already picked one out. I consulted my spreadsheet, and told him how much we still needed. Three days later, we received a check in the mail for that exact amount. The Lord provides. I was terrified during those months of lack, but God showed us again and again that he was there. All of our immediate needs were met. God did not leave us alone.

SO HOW DO YOU INTEGRATE THIS CONCEPT INTO THE HOME?

TEACH

Talk with your children about money and about God’s Biblical design. We were made to be managers, so that money need not rule over us. This keeps money from becoming our god. Use the Bible to study God’s design for money.
Train children to manage their own money. Use three jars or three envelopes. One for giving (do this first), one for saving, and one for needs and wants. (Our children will likely only have wants as their needs are met by parents.) I suggest 10% in giving, 15% in saving, and the remaining 75% in “wants”.)
Help your children to understand that all money comes from God. Its purpose is to provide for our earthly needs and to serve others. Help them to think of ways that they might use money to serve others. Giving is often more fun than receiving. My son enjoys sending money to animal shelters, food banks, and even to our Lutheran seminary. Let your children choose what to do with their giving dollars.

MODEL

I believe that it’s appropriate and right to talk with your children about your own family budget. Help them to understand how you use the money that God has given. By the time our children leave home, they should confidently know how to design and operate a budget. (A budget is not restrictive. It is you telling your money where to go. You make the choices.)
Show your children how you tithe. Let tithing be a visual occurrence. So many people make use of electronic giving, but our kids can’t see that. Write a check. Put it in the offering plate. This is not so that others can see you giving, but a visual reminder for your children that what you have is God’s.
When your children ask for something that you choose not to provide (like a pair of name brand shoes, or a fancy vacation), tell them why. Instead of using words like, “We can’t afford that,” say, “We choose to use the Lord’s gifts differently.” Instead of framing a sense of lack, talk about abundance and choice. God always gives enough. You choose what to do with what you’ve been given.
Pray. Routinely pray thanks for the income that the Lord has provided. Thank God for food at the table and for a safe home.
Help your children to cultivate a sense of gratitude. If needed, have them write down one thing every day that they are grateful for. (It’s fun to keep a list in a notebook or place papers in a jar and re-read them once a year.) When children are doubting God’s providence, have them recount God’s gracious giving and all the things he has already provided.

Integrating the Faith at Home: Managing God’s Wealth

THE FOUNDATION FOR UNDERSTANDING MONEY IS OUR IDENTITY IN CHRIST

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE HAVE TO SAY ABOUT MANAGING GOD’S WEALTH?