Ephesians 4:28b, NIV

“… but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.”

There are many different ways in which we can teach our children to be good stewards over their money. One of the most important habits we can teach them about is tithing. By teaching them to tithe, we are instilling in them the truth that God gives us all that we have, and that He desires us to give a portion of that blessing back to Him. This is a very powerful truth and those who are aware of it and do it are blessed.

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.” (Malachi 3:10, NIV)

In this verse we find in Malachi the Lord actually dares us to test Him by giving of our tithes on a regular basis. Not just when we have extra or it feels good, but with every single blessing He sees fit to give us. Wow, that is saying a lot. Will you dare to take Him at His word? Will you dare to teach your children to do the same?

The Lord led us to begin to teach our children about tithing at a very young age, as soon as they are given an allowance. On their sixth birthday, each of them receive three small bins—one to hold their tithe money, one for their savings, and one that they may freely spend from. Weekly they receive one dollar, of which ten cents goes into each of their savings and tithe containers. Any money they receive as a gift also gets divided up in this way. What a pleasure they take in giving their tithes to the church after it has accumulated.

Our children are all still very young, but we have spoken to them on a regular basis about ways that they might be able to earn extra money if they desired to do so. I don’t feel I need to continue to increase their allowance money as they get older, but rather give them opportunities to make their own money if they wish to have more.

We live in a neighborhood where they could easily pick up small jobs such as shoveling snow or raking leaves. Of course we also want them to learn to do these things without any expectation of being paid either. There are many older people in our neighborhood who would benefit greatly from someone cleaning off their walk and driveway. So we have tried to provide the tools for our children to be able to do this.

The scriptures teach us that the very purpose of us working is to be able to give to those in need around us (Ephesians 4:28). So we are careful to show our children that God doesn’t desire us only to make money for ourselves but also to provide for others.

What an advantage we give our children when we instill such values in them at a young age! How wonderful for them to learn now the true meaning of working hard and blessing others. May God give you many more creative ideas and opportunities to teach your children about the value of serving God with their increase!