My daughter has learned to manage her money quite well. In fact, she has never had any trouble with this. From age twelve, we applied for her first bank account and got her a debit card.

We then did a quick calculation to understand how much money we were spending on her clothes, entertainment, presents for friends, tithe etc…. and started paying all that money into her account each month. We helped her formulate a budget to manage her own money and she has never looked back.

One of the first lessons we drummed into her was the idea of “Paying yourself First”. Ten percent of all her income goes into a savings account. This is her “seed” to sow and grow for future harvest.

Investing as a Christian

She has done really well at managing her money but I realized that her savings had become just that, and nothing more. This is tantamount to burying your gold in the ground. I also needed to teach her about investing as a Christian.

²⁴ “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. ²⁵ So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ ²⁶ “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? ²⁷ Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. ²⁸ “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. ²⁹ For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. ³⁰ And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Matthew 25:24-30

Now I’m not suggesting that my daughter is a “wicked and lazy servant”. Her lack of knowledge is not a crime. It’s my job to teach her these principles. I suddenly realized that, as I had not done this, I was the wicked and lazy servant!

Money devalues at the rate of inflation. In other words if inflation is at 5%, $100.00 worth of groceries will cost $105.00 by the same time next year. If we simply bury our “gold” by putting it under the mattress or in a zero-interest bank account, our $100.00 will have the buying power of $95.00 in a year’s time. In other words, when it comes to investing as a Christian, simply putting your money in the bank and forgetting about it is a bad investment.

And so I took the plunge. More to the point, I made my daughter take the plunge. We settled on gold as an asset class. I have always shied away from gold as I don’t know the commodity very well. That is to say, I don’t understand how it moves and what influences its price. However, the goal here was not to teach my daughter how to make a fortune investing in gold.

The goal was to teach her to invest in something. Gold is a good match for her because it is:

• Affordable in small quantities
• Easy to buy and sell
• Holds its value over time

Could she lose her money? Possibly. But she could also grow it into a truly worthwhile investment. Anything lost would amount to lessons learned but, over time, her investment will probably grow. Dealing with financial loss is part of investing as a Christian. I would rather she learns this now than live her entire life gripped with the fear of financial loss. After all, money is just not that important.

The point of teaching my daughter how to invest? Good stewardship. Stewardship starts with the understanding that all we have belongs to God. Our stewardship starts with giving of our tithes and offerings to invest in God’s kingdom and purposes.

However, that is only the tip of the iceberg. Having given to God’s kingdom doesn’t mean we get to pat ourselves on the back and squander the rest as we please. Having set aside a portion as our “seed”, we then need to learn how to plant, water and grow that seed to produce a future harvest.

This will allow us to keep on investing in God’s kingdom in years to come. It will also afford us the time to spend on those things that are truly important.

This week presented me with both a learning and teaching opportunity with respect to the principles of stewardship.

My eleven-year-old son has long nurtured a dream to live on a farm, even if only a small one. This led to yet another conversation this week followed by an internet search for a suitable property. Nothing serious – just for a bit of fun.

And then…

While searching, we spotted a stunning nine acre property with stabling for seven horses. The property has a chicken-run, a stream and a small pond along with several fields for grazing. The house looked immaculate with beautiful finishes. This is a minimum requirement for my wife who feels she has had her fill of fix-me-up properties and can’t face the idea of buying another home that needs extensive work doing.

The property is only nine minutes outside of town where we currently live so no need to move churches or schools.

In short, if ever there was a perfect opportunity, this was it! Having myself spent a few years on a smallholding in my mid-teens, I have fond memories of this rural lifestyle and would dearly love to give my children the same experience.

As such, what started out as a bit of fun, suddenly took a more serious turn. With my son egging me on, I called the agent. We couldn’t get an appointment immediately, but he gave me the address so that I could drive past the property and at least peer over the fence.

That same afternoon, I dragged the whole family off to take a peek. It looked perfect!

Principles of Stewardship

From there, I went home and crunched the numbers. It would be a stretch but the property was, surprisingly, just on the edge of our maximum for affordability. I calculated and recalculated as I considered the various options. I wanted to be sure I could put my best foot forward and understood all of my constraints before beginning any negotiations.

However, after sleeping on it and prayerfully considering the opportunity, I had to acknowledge that my desire to own this stunning piece of land was a Need-Minded desire rather than a Seed-Minded one.

By that, I mean it put my own needs and, more specifically, my wants ahead of good stewardship. I have a financial plan that seeks to:

• Support my family
• Give generously to God’s Kingdom and
• Plant seeds for future growth

This is a Seed-Minded plan. I want to ensure that I not only have enough to support my family and give to God’s kingdom today but also that I can continue to do so tomorrow, and for years to come.

To make this purchase would consume all my resources and leave nothing to plant as seed for future harvest.

The principles of stewardship acknowledge that all I have and all I earn belongs to God, not me. As such, I have a duty of care to manage God’s resources as a wise servant rather than to squander them on a single self-gratifying experience.

The “seed money” I have saved or am likely to save over the next five to ten years is earmarked for investments that will bear fruit and, God willing, finance missionaries or ministers-in-training while continuing to support my family for years to come. To divert all of those funds into my own short-term happiness would be foolish.

Having drawn this conclusion and discussed it with my wife, who was in full agreement, we called the kids through and chatted to them. We showed them the numbers and explained our reasoning. We then recapped the principles of stewardship and asked them what they thought?

This led to a great conversation in which my children got to apply:

• Godly Stewardship
• Wise Financial Decisions and
• Delayed vs Instant Gratification

… all in one very practical experience that they had both been involved in and could relate to.

By involving my children in the whole process rather than shielding them from “financial matters that they wouldn’t understand”, they have experienced the excitement of anticipation, the disappointment of lost opportunity and the wisdom of good stewardship first-hand. In the years to come, I am sure, they will also experience the reward of good stewardship. I will share those lessons when the time comes.

It pains me that I can’t give my children an experience that, I believe, would bring them and the whole family immense joy. But I am secure in the knowledge that God has a bigger plan for me and my family and that this sacrifice serves a bigger purpose.

Perhaps my son will get his farm some day. But it will be in God’s time and for his purposes. It won’t be today.