Expositions: Tell Your Kids Why you are Rich!

Now in my prosperity I said,

“I shall never be moved” psalm 30 verses 6.

Researches have shown that wealth rarely survives the second generation.  You don’t need to assume that the second generation involved in reckless spending. You don’t have that fact. Maybe we need to take a study to see if the first generation actually communicated anything to the next.  The scripture enjoined parents: Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it (Proverbs 22 verses 6).

Many have erroneously narrowed that scripture for religious purposes alone, but it is far more than that. It is life all encompassing.  We should take the modal verb “should” into consideration. It is way different from “could” which paints the picture of likeliness other than precision that “should” paints. That word “should” demands a precise way to get somewhere. A certain route whose principles of engagements remain eternal; a slight modification might have occurred, but it hasn’t induced a major change.

What made you rich that others do not know? What made you rich that did not make others rich? Clarify what hard-work means to different people because your children have been seeing people working hard and are not rich? Have you told them the kind of books you read and gave them some to read as well? When last did you engage your children on a heart to heart talk on the topic money? Or are you among those who throw up excuses on their behalf saying they cannot understand it now? But sure you have heard them say things that you expect only adults to know? Engage your children early on financial intelligence, on money generally and see the way they tilt in that path voraciously. They are early adopters of innovation; and once they grow they become a masterpiece.

Mayer Amschel Rothschild did it with his five sons in the 17^th century. He held a daily round table (around the rotten table in his living room) discussion with his sons, and together they revolutionized the banking world. He is the eldest of three sons whose parents were in the business of dealing in money, both buying and selling, in which he assisted from age ten. He inherited this banking ideology from them and was daily passing it down to his children from their tender age. They grew up to revolutionize the banking world in Europe and there is nowhere around the world where banking revolutionists would be mentioned without their names topping the list.  He did not do anything extraordinary, rather than injecting financial intelligence in his sons at their early age. He knew once they grow up they would have harvested erroneous opinions about financial education, and may be difficult to convince at that point. So he started with them early. Although there are critics who have identified him as an opportunist or a looter, that shouldn’t be your problem. Your concern should be he injected financial education into his children. You should do same. Do yours the right way if you consider his’ wrong!

With this you won’t be running around with your kids after college looking for one placement or the other. They would have spotted what to do, what skill to learn, and would already be in flight at their tender age. You will be free of all graduates stress!