The latest lesson learned by Jesus Kidz students is the concept of GIVE SAVE LIVE. As a part of ALM's Summer of Change, the students had the opportunity to learn some key concepts in money management. The smart way in which we should handle finances, even as children, is found in the Bible!!! When children learn to be persistent in smart money management by following God's law first, they are setting themselves up to be free from a life ruled by money...either by having too little or too much. The bible tells us in Luke 16:13 that we cannot serve God and money. The serving that is discussed here could happen when we feel like our money is ours (Pastor Yassah called that stingy) and refuse to give or give with a grudge or when we don't have enough and are afraid to let even the smallest amount go out of fear of not having enough once the little bit is gone. Both ways are bad because our God loves a cheerful giver (regardless of how much she has to give to begin with)!!!
So this is what we learned...
Take 3 used (it is more fun that way) jars. Label one GIVE, one SAVE, and the other LIVE. Get creative here in decorating and labeling your jars. Keep them in the order of GIVE, SAVE, LIVE. The order is important because we all know that it is better to give than to receive!! Read as a family the scriptures for each jar! Learn them and search the bible for more biblical explanations of each one! If you are a parent reading this, encourage your child(ren) to give a tithe and an offering each time they receive money, even it is $.75 from the $5.00 they earned for the weeks' allowance. Although the amount may seem minor on the grand scheme of things, you are encouraging an incredible obedience to the Lord that will cause your children to be blessed!!!! The GIVE jar can even be used for missions and charity! After a portion has been put into the GIVE jar, a portion should be placed in the SAVE jar. This is where you want to focus more on long term savings and short term goals. For example, saving for college (long term) and saving for a new Xbox game (short term goal). The joy that comes from saving and accomplishing goals helps us grow! Our children are no different, so help them set long and short term goals to plan and save for. Finally, after giving and saving, the LIVE jar can be filled! We all want to have a little fun...sometimes a lot! This jar will be filled with spendable money for things such as movie admissions, special treats, unplanned shopping trips, etc. Yes, we should encourage our children to pay for some of the things that they like! Remember that we must train up our children in the way they should go so that when they are older they will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6). Giving them an allowance is a great training tool to help them learn the concept of GIVE SAVE LIVE. While we have the ability to buy it for them, take care of it, you know how it goes, we must consider the principles that we want to teach our children. Do we want to teach them that someone else will always do it for them or to be responsible youngsters who blossom into responsible adults? Think about it!!
GIVE- 2 Corinthians 9:6-7; Malachi 3:10; Proverbs 11:24; Luke 6:38
SAVE- Proverbs 6:6-8
LIVE- John 10:10
