FAMILY FINANCES
“Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:” Proverbs 3:9 (KJV)
One of the areas of family life that you must not take lightly is your family finance. Teach your children the right way to handle money. Money is not evil; the love of money is. If you do not take time to teach your children about money, the world will teach them wrongly and remember what we said yesterday, the best way to teach them is by modelling the right behaviour.
From the time the child is born, teach them to tithe. How? Have a tithe account for them. Whatever monies they are given, take out the tithe and give it on their behalf and as they grow older, let them know what you are doing. Do not allow them to go into the church, irrespective of the service without a prepared offering. Teach them by example to have their offering prepared before they get to church. These are little ways you teach them to honour God. Let them know that coming to church is not to fulfil any obligation or tradition, but a time to enjoy corporate fellowship.
Teach them to save. Let them know that from whatever they get, after giving their tithe, they must set something aside for savings. Teach them the right money habits so that when they grow old, they simply grow into those godly habits.
In our text today, honouring God is not a suggestion, it is a mandate. Honour the Lord with your substance, so, teach them. While the world is preaching against tithing, show them the benefits of tithing. Let them understand that it is not out of law or compulsion but out of love and appreciation. Remember, the love languages? Giving is a love language and we learned that you cannot love without giving, so explain it to them. You are teaching by example, so you must be ready to explain why you do what you do to them. Lay the right foundation for them early in life and that keeps them on their journey even when they grow up and leave home, those habits stay with them and make them better citizens of any country wherever they find themselves.
Further Reading: Proverbs 3:5-10
Daily Bible Reading: Morning- Leviticus 21-22; Evening- Matthew 28
