Life can be interesting. When things happen in our lives, we see them one way, but God sees them in a totally different light. One example of this can be our children. For some their children were "accidents," or unplanned. Yet, they were part of God's plan from the beginning. Each of us has been designed by God with a purpose. This is not to say that we don't love our children dearly. My children are the best thing that ever happened to me. But we do need to look carefully at how we handle the responsibility at hand.
Understanding the responsibility
When God gave us our children, He gave us a huge responsibility. Remember, as Christians, we don't own any of our "possessions". Everything God has given us has been entrusted to us to take care of for awhile. It is an awesome feeling to think about the fact that God chose each of us personally to be responsible for the children that He has blessed us with. That means that God knows our abilities and trusts us to properly guide these little people in a way that will help them discover and live out their own purpose.
We cannot take this responsibility lightly. In fact, it is part of our own purposes. If we don't nurture our children properly and provide them with a strong foundation, they may never do what God designed them to do. Our own attitudes toward this responsibility can slow the advancement of God's Kingdom.
Attitudes toward money
There are so many lessons we can share with our children. In the area of finances, we should help them develop a proper attitude toward money. They should see us give money its appropriate place in our lives. While money is an important tool that we do use in our daily lives, it should never be a focal point for us. We cannot allow our children to see us fall victim to a life where money has become our god. We belong to a jealous God. We cannot serve two gods. Let's show our children how to live strictly for the one, true God.
Spending habits
With respect to spending, we should live within a budget so that we are not spending more than we are making. We should stop trying to keep up with the Joneses and truly live within our means.
If we use credit cards, the monthly bill should be low enough for us to pay it off in full each month. We should also work toward eliminating our current debt obligations and teach our children not to get into financial debt with credit cards by teaching them to use them responsibly. These are simply examples of some of the most common struggles in every household. We should look carefully into our own households to determine our own challenges.
The pattern will continue
Our children are watching us. Whether they say something or not, they absorb every action that they see us do in front of them. As adults, they are highly likely to develop the same habits that they observed growing up. Have you ever found yourself doing or saying something, only to realize that you reminded yourself of one of your parents? I know I have on many occasions. We can all think back to our own childhoods and see some of the habits we've picked up from our parents. The interesting thing about it is that we do many of those habits without thinking. If it happened to us, it will happen to our own children.
Will we be happy with the habits our children carry into adulthood? Are they habits that we are proud to have passed on to future generations? What changes, if any, should we make to ensure that we will be both happy and proud? It is never too late to learn new habits, so start learning new ones with your children, practice makes perfect.
Understanding the responsibility
When God gave us our children, He gave us a huge responsibility. Remember, as Christians, we don't own any of our "possessions". Everything God has given us has been entrusted to us to take care of for awhile. It is an awesome feeling to think about the fact that God chose each of us personally to be responsible for the children that He has blessed us with. That means that God knows our abilities and trusts us to properly guide these little people in a way that will help them discover and live out their own purpose.
We cannot take this responsibility lightly. In fact, it is part of our own purposes. If we don't nurture our children properly and provide them with a strong foundation, they may never do what God designed them to do. Our own attitudes toward this responsibility can slow the advancement of God's Kingdom.
Attitudes toward money
There are so many lessons we can share with our children. In the area of finances, we should help them develop a proper attitude toward money. They should see us give money its appropriate place in our lives. While money is an important tool that we do use in our daily lives, it should never be a focal point for us. We cannot allow our children to see us fall victim to a life where money has become our god. We belong to a jealous God. We cannot serve two gods. Let's show our children how to live strictly for the one, true God.
Spending habits
With respect to spending, we should live within a budget so that we are not spending more than we are making. We should stop trying to keep up with the Joneses and truly live within our means.
If we use credit cards, the monthly bill should be low enough for us to pay it off in full each month. We should also work toward eliminating our current debt obligations and teach our children not to get into financial debt with credit cards by teaching them to use them responsibly. These are simply examples of some of the most common struggles in every household. We should look carefully into our own households to determine our own challenges.
The pattern will continue
Our children are watching us. Whether they say something or not, they absorb every action that they see us do in front of them. As adults, they are highly likely to develop the same habits that they observed growing up. Have you ever found yourself doing or saying something, only to realize that you reminded yourself of one of your parents? I know I have on many occasions. We can all think back to our own childhoods and see some of the habits we've picked up from our parents. The interesting thing about it is that we do many of those habits without thinking. If it happened to us, it will happen to our own children.
Will we be happy with the habits our children carry into adulthood? Are they habits that we are proud to have passed on to future generations? What changes, if any, should we make to ensure that we will be both happy and proud? It is never too late to learn new habits, so start learning new ones with your children, practice makes perfect.
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