Inspire Your Children to Live Simply

When God brings you to a financial desert, He’s teaching you the most important lessons in life. Because the desert is God’s university.I know some parents who as kids were raised in poverty, but through struggle and faith, they’ve now left the financial desert. But here’s the tragedy: Because they now have the ability to give a comfortable life to their children, they give too much of it.If you’re one of these parents, let me speak frankly to you. By giving everything that your children ask – expensive clothes, fancy toys, tiny cell phones – you rob them of the very thing that made you strong: the desert, the place where you struggled and built your character and made you who you are.Don’t give them everything they ask for.Let them have the desert experience.That’s why I teach kids to think and talk in the language of the desert.I tell them, “Don’t ask your parents, ‘Can I ask for $25.00”Maybe he can make and sell sandwiches in school, maybe he can invest in a candy machine, maybe he can sell insurance to the parents of his classmates, and maybe he can tutor smaller children for a little fee, maybe…As early as 10 to 12 years old, teach your children to be entrepreneurs.Teach your kids the lessons of the desert.Parents complain to me, “My kids are so materialistic!”This is my answer. If you see your kids splurge on designer clothes, you can’t complain if your closet is filled with these too. You’ve got to show the way.Second, not only should you live simply, you should enjoy living simply. They won’t see the logic if you give up you luxury car but hear you complain the bicker and fret about your second-hand car.And when kids ask for expensive toys, expensive clothes and expensive cars, don’t answer, “We can’t afford it.” That’s a clear message that says, “We live a deprived life. Boo-hoo-hoo…” You have to clearly explain to them that living simply is a deliberate choice. Seat them before you and say, “ Daddy and Mommy can buy that toy for you, but if we do, we’ll have to work harder to earn money. Perhaps we won’t come home for dinner and have to be away for the weekends. Do you want Daddy and Mommy to be away from you – or do you want them to always be here beside you?”Don’t expect it to sink in right away. Let them see you enjoy the simple things of life – not just those with a high price tag. In the end, a simple lifestyle is caught more than taught.But here’s one parent who had a kid that got the message and loved it.It so happened that I was sitting and observing a group of boys, including my son, who sat in a circle nearby. Their conversation went like this: Child A: “My daddy is a doctor and he makes a lot of money and we have a swimming pool.” Child B: “My daddy is a lawyer and he flies to Washington and talks to the president.” Child C: “My daddy owns a company and we have our own airplane.” Then my son (with aplomb, of course) looking proudly in my direction: “My daddy is here!”-David ElkindInspire your kid to live simply.

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