We’re
Teaching This:
Do
you every wonder if your life would be better with just a little more money? Of
course you have! Maybe you want to buy more clothes, more music, or maybe you
want to go to a concert with your friends.
Wanting money is a no-brainer. But is that all there is to it? Is our
only role with money to spend what we have and want more when it’s gone? As
students, it’s easy to feel powerless when it comes to cash. Someone else pays
the bills. Someone else makes the decisions. But what if I told you that you
have more power than you realize? You have the power to help your family,
change your habits, and even impact others in a big way. The truth is, money
matters. Right here. Right now. And when you choose to change the way you think about it, God can do some big
things in you and even bigger things through you.
Session 1 Summary: Think About It (4/22)
How
much money is in your pocket right now? Is it enough for a Frappuccino? A movie
ticket? A gumball? No matter how much money you have, you probably feel like
it’s not much. Sure, you get a little for lunch or gas, but it’s not like
you’re paying the mortgage. All of the important stuff is taken care of by someone
else. You probably don’t worry about how the bills get paid or how much you pay
for insurance. It’s easy to feel like money doesn’t really affect us. Maybe it
causes tension in our house, and we probably wish we had more. But what can we
really do? Should money even matter when you’re a teenager? According to King
Solomon, the way we think about
money, our attitude toward it and those who control it can make a huge impact
on our lives and our relationships—even when we’re young. And because of that, money
matters right now.
Session 2 Summary: Fight for your Right (4/29)
There’s just a great feeling that comes with buying
something new. And that’s convenient because there is always something new to buy. New game system. New sneakers. New phone.
No matter how awesome our stuff is, there’s always a newer
slightly-more-awesome version coming out soon. And it’s completely normal to
want it. The danger is when confuse what we want
with what we deserve. That’s called
entitlement—and it’s a trap that can hold us back from really enjoying our
lives. But it doesn’t have to be that way. The writer of Hebrews tells us that
there’s an alternative to entitlement, and when we choose it, we can enjoy
something that no new gadget could ever give us. We can be free.
Session 3 Summary: Breaking Bread (5/6)
Any time there’s a
disaster, earthquake, or tornado, what’s the first thing that comes to mind
when you want to help out? Money, right? Because we’ve all seen how money used
the right way can help people. And most of us would agree that it’s great thing
to do. Maybe you even plan to participate…one day. Eventually. When you have
more than just a few bucks for lunch. See, even if we’re in favor of being
generous, most of us feel a little hesitant to give. We think that our tiny bit
of cash isn’t enough to make any real impact anyone’s life. But what if we’re
wrong? What if we have more and can offer more than we ever realized? Through
the story of a young boy on a fishing trip, we see that, when we are generous,
God can use even a small amount to make a big impact.
Think
About This:
Remember
when you couldn’t wait a certain TV show came on? Or you couldn’t wait to get
the new album by your favorite artist? Or you couldn’t wait for someone to get
off the phone so you could talk to your friends? These days, it seems like
waiting and anticipation are long gone. Movies and tv are on-demand. Downloads
are instant. Friends are just a click away.
While
these conveniences aren’t bad, the
get-it-now mentality can easily drift into other areas of our life. We want a
new phone before the contract is up. We want a new iPad, even when the old one
works fine. The faster we get something
new, the faster we expect to receive
other things. And, especially for students, it becomes easy to mistake, “I want it now” for “I deserve it now”.
In
his blog post, Pace Yourself, Pace Your
Kids, author Tim Elmore says, We must figure out how to pace our students, exposing them to
measured amounts of possessions and appropriate experiences as they mature. In other words, if we give our students everything they want now, there will be nothing to look
forward to later. He goes on to offer
some advice to parents, struggling to help their student master the art of
anticipation:
1.
Pace the sequence of possessions
and experiences, allowing for a bigger and better one, as they mature. For instance, you might plan…a trip across the U.S. when
they're in middle school and a trip overseas when they're in high school.
2.
Don't fall into the trap of comparisons. Other
parents may win brownie points with their kids because they give them too much,
too soon. Those kids are "wowed" in the moment, … may have difficulty
managing expectations as young adults
Pacing
what we give our students, allowing anticipation to build, is certainly not
easy. But it does help them learn to be content with what they have, right here
and right now.
From
http://growingleaders.com/blog/pace-pace-kids-2/
Try
This
Nothing can help a student be content with
what they have more than noticing
what they have. Often, students have no idea how much money goes into
everything that is provided for them. Things like electricity, water, clothing,
and transportation. Consider inviting your student to join you as you work on
the family budget. He or she can…
- Ask for his or
her help with the math.
- Ask for input on
where the family could save money.
- Ask students to
help you find a way to be more generous.
Not
only will it help students to see where money goes on their behalf, but seeing
a real budget, in a real house, can help them make wise choices with their own
money as they enter adulthood.