"Dad, thanks for showing me how to handle money"

As I ponder what the future will hold me me and my posterity alike, I cant help but to think about how my children will handle money. There are conversations that I would like to have in 20 years with each of my children. One of them is the positive influence I had on their lives with regard to how well they manage their money.

When the word legacy is used in the secular community is often linked to a person's future financial affairs and concerns. It relates to how a person passes money on to their 3 "C's" their Children, their Church, or their Charity. But I think of legacy and money in a very different light.

The legacy the world is talking about has more to do with the actual money itself and the money legacy I am talking about has to do with how we teach our children and grandchildren about money and how it should be used now. There is also a lot to be said about where the money came from in the first place. God makes considerable reference to money in His word and He uses money as a tool in which to bring us into a more dependant relationship with Him. Do my kids know this to be the case?

I have three children, two of which are old enough to understand some of the concepts that revolve around money management. I have one child who can spend money like there is no tomorrow and who enjoys the "Live in the now" mentality as it relates to his financial well being. I have another child however who is the complete opposite. She seems to "Come into" money with very little effort. She does what she loves to do, which is serve people and the Lord seems to bless her abundantly, she can't spend her money fast enough. It is also interesting to note that she is very faithful in her giving. The offering basket does not get past her without some of her money making it's way in.

I am sure glad that God is in control, because it's overwhelming to think of the responsibility I bear in teaching my children about money. Money is an instrument that is used for both good and evil and I pray that God will give me the wisdom to not only make good decisions myself with the money that he has entrusted to me, but also to pass on a legacy of money that fruitful in His eyes, to my children.

The financial legacy we leave to the generations ahead of us begins now with how we handle our money. My desire is to pass on solid godly financial principle that will aid them in good times and in bad...