How
can parents provide for their children, financially speaking?
Parents
often go to great lengths to provide for their children—even to the extent of selling
their home and jeopardising their retirement nest egg—in
order that the latter might be able to acquire quality tertiary education.
Most
parents want to give good gifts to their children. A degree from a prestigious
foreign university is often perceived as the best legacy parents can leave for their
children. However, whether this premise is true or not is debatable.
“What
father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a
serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who
are evil, know how to give good gifts to your
children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those
who ask Him!” (Luke 11:11-13).
The
Bible also tells us that good parents go a step
further. They leave an inheritance not only for their children but their
children’s children. “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s
children” (Proverbs 13:22a).
The
Chinese have this saying that family wealth will not last beyond the third
generation. Probably, an entitlement mentality, a complacent attitude and lack
of financial management skills among the young will cause hard-earned wealth to
be frittered away.
A fool and his money are soon parted. We see this truth coming to pass in the Parable of the Prodigal Son where the
younger son spent his inheritance on wild living—including wasting his
substance on prostitutes (Luke 15:11-32).
As
such, wise parents would do well to instil in
their children values and discipline—including hard work, honesty, humility, thrift,
generosity, teamwork, self-sufficiency, delayed gratification and
entrepreneurial spirit. Hopefully, the latter will then know how to be good
stewards of the wealth their parents have worked so hard to attain.
Teaching and training children in the things of God (Deuteronomy 6:6-7; Proverbs
22:6) must be emphasised—apart from providing for their physical needs or helping them to
excel academically. Raising intellectual, materialistic kids who are
spiritually bankrupt is a pitfall to be avoided in today’s fast-paced,
go-getter world.
Teaching:
“These commandments
that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your
children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the
road, when you lie down and when you get up” (Deuteronomy 6:6-7).
Training:
“Train a child
in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it” (Proverbs
22:6).
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NO FREE LUNCH
Parents need to instil a sense of autonomy and
personal responsibility in their kids. Being firm to our kids is necessary if
we want to be kind to them in the long run. For money which rolls in easily
will not stay with them; easy it comes, easy it leaves.
YOU CAN COUNT ON ME
Sure we would like to hear that from our children. But is it wise to
depend on our kids to provide for us when we retire?
PARENTS AS TEACHERS
WHAT EDUCATION DOES NOT
TEACH US
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