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I talk to many Christian women who tell me their teens have little understanding or respect for the family finances. When we first started homeschooling in 2016, I considered reviewing and understanding the family budget as a life skill. I view it as preparation for life and marriage.
My children are aware that we are not wealthy and that we are super careful with budgeting and money. We view this in the Christian context of being good stewards with that which God has entrusted us. They understand that money not only doesn’t grow on trees, but that we have worked very hard and saved to be able to have our homestead and run it. Both of my teens know how much money it takes each year to run our household and pay all the bills that pass through it. This helps them plan what their lives and marriages will have to look like in the future.
My son is clear that he must work hard and provide. At 17, he is already driven in that direction. Likewise, my teen daughter knows that a man who does not delight in God honoring labor does not qualify to be her husband. Both, in turn, understand that money earned is to be used wisely and saved. No, we are not talking about an unhealthy drive toward wealth, hoarding or security found outside of God. We are talking about working and providing and stewardship.
If you are the parents of teens or even pre-teens who don’t seem to grasp this, that’s your fault. Correct it now. Maybe you’ve spoiled your children or infantilized them. It’s not funny, normal or healthy, which is how the world treats it. As parents, we know that our children are owned by the Lord. When they reach adulthood, they begin planning to live their lives, often independently of their family of origin. This is often part of following God’s plan for their lives. We must prepare them.
1 Cor 7:33 But he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife.
1 Timothy 5:8 But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.
Christian Woman on the Homestead 