Children, Easter, and Money

This month, I thought I would highlight a great place to find material for teaching your children about the use of money. So, with this month being Easter, I thought we might look to the bible. Regardless of your personal beliefs, the bible is a great resource for you and your children to get practical information about the use of money and possessions. Whether you believe the bible is the inspired word of God or just a bunch of made up stories, it has very useful guidance particularly concerning money. In fact the bible contains more than 2,350 verses concerning money and passions. This subject area is covered more than almost in other topic in the bible. In addition to the many verses, nearly half of the parables taught by Jesus dealt in some way with these issues.

I find it interesting that being able to lend money is considered a blessing while having to borrow it is considered a curse. The bible goes on to say, “Just as the rich rule the poor; so the borrower is servant to the lender.” – Proverbs 22:7. Most American’s today wouldn’t consider themselves slaves, but unfortunately most are slaves to their jobs because of the debt that they have.

The bible speaks about planning for the future. The entire 41 st chapter of Genesis is a great story, not only about Joseph and his brothers, but also about planning for the future. Ecclesiastes 11:2 discusses the importance of diversification telling one to, “Divide your portion to seven or even eight, for you do not know what misfortune may occur on earth.” Proverbs 21:52 tells one that, “Steady plodding brings prosperity; hasty speculation brings poverty.” This is a strong message about prudent and consistent investing. Kings 20:1 states “Set your house in order, for you shall die.” I haven’t seen a clearer message about having a will or trust. The often misquoted message about money being the root of all evil actually says, “The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.” Another version says, “Because people love money they do all kinds of wrong things.”

I find it amazing that the contemporary advice often provided by financial planners was already written hundreds and thousands of years ago. If you’re interested in gaining additional information about what the biblical scriptures have to say about this issue, the best resource I know other than the bible itself is an organization called Crown Financial Ministries. You can visit there website at www.crown.org.

So, as you celebrate Easter with your children this year, regardless of how or why you celebrate it, consider some of the fundamental topics relayed in book known as the Bible. Perhaps, you could even teach your child the real reason behind Easter, and a little something about money too.