What Are You Leaving for Your Children?

The other day I was sitting on the floor in our sitting room, just watching my little girls play. They were running after each other, laughing, falling down and getting up again. To them, life is just play. They have no idea how heavy this world can be. As I watched them, one question came to me and it refused to go: when I am no longer here, what will I leave for these girls?

I am not only talking about a house or money in the bank. I am talking about what they believe, how they behave, and how they will handle life when Daddy is not there to help them. Will they grow up knowing how to build something, or will they only finish what I worked so hard to keep?

Just surviving is not enough

That day I saw something clearly. If I do not teach my children now, I am failing them tomorrow. Just making it from one month to the next is not something we can pass on to our children. What we leave behind must be strong enough to keep going even when we are no longer in the room.

Look at this verse again. It does not stop at our children. It talks about our grandchildren too. Many of us think that if we just pray and work hard for many years, something good will automatically remain for our families. But in the Bible, the people who left something behind were people who planned for it and taught their children well.

Teach them to look after what they receive

There are two kinds of children. The first one asks, "What am I going to get?" The second one asks, "What am I going to do with what I have been given?"

The first child will finish everything that comes into their hands. The second child will look after it, add to it, and pass it on to the next ones. So it is not enough to leave money for our children. We must also teach them how to take care of it, or it will not last.

Start with the little you have

Maybe you are reading this and thinking, "Wisdom, I do not have land, I do not have investments, and by month end there is nothing left." My brother, my sister, do not lose heart. You can start with small things and keep doing them every week:

• Teach your child to keep aside a little from any money they receive, even if it is only K5
• Let them see how you plan the money for the home, even when it is not enough
• Give together as a family, at church and to people in need
• Pray together about money, work and the future

None of this needs a big salary. It only needs a parent who is ready to start where they are.

Read the full article

I have written more about all of this in my new article, [How to Leave a Godly Financial Inheritance for Your Children](How to Leave a Godly Financial Inheritance for Your Children I talk about why so much family money disappears after the parents die, what we can learn from Abraham, and simple steps you can start this month to build something for your family.

If you sometimes feel you are not doing enough as a parent, please hear me. Your family does not need you to have everything sorted out. They need you to be faithful with what God has already put in your hands.

If this letter has blessed you, please send it to one parent who needs to read it this week.

Until next week,

Wisdom