I am teaching my six year old son, Caspian, about money.
Instead of giving him an allowance, we decided to give him commission for the work that he does. So if he cleans his room, I will give him a dollar.
Well more accurately, I will inspect it and point out some toys he missed. Then he will finish the job, and I will oh and ah over how good it looks. Then I give him a high five and a dollar. He will put the dollar in his Baby Yoda bank.
In all this, I wanted teach him that money comes from work. I don’t want him growing up thinking he is entitled to some sort of allowance from me or from the government or from anyone.
So I found myself saying over and over, “Caspian, money comes from work.”
Then I realized this phrase did not match up exactly to what I was reading in the words of Jesus. Jesus said that our Father in heaven provides for us. He provides for us better than the birds and flowers. He knows what we need before we know what we need. Jesus said that if we ask the father for bread, he will give us bread not a snake. Jesus said it is the father’s good pleasure to give us the Kingdom. God has extravagant love for His children. He is super generous. We live each day because He provides for us.
After reading the words of Jesus over and over, I am now I am thinking and telling Caspian, “Money comes from God through work.”
This is the best understanding that I have right now, but I know God is continuing to grow me in this area. So I might have a better or more accurate phrase in the future.
For now, I celebrate a job well done, and I give Caspian a high five and a dollar, and say “Money comes from God through work (usually).”
He doesn’t quite understand this new phrase this at age 6, but he has time to grow into it.
If fact, I don’t quite understand all this myself, but God is growing me into it.