Is It Selfish To Save Money?
Answer: Saving money can be selfish, but it doesn’t have to be. We need to plan ahead and save for future needs, so we need to save.
If we don’t, we are being foolish. But we also need to give. We need to trust God to meet our needs.
If we try to save all our money and never share any of it, we aren’t trusting God, we’re trusting in our money.
That’s called hoarding, and God doesn’t like it. Saving should always meet a future need. It should not just make us richer.
Most selfish people show their selfishness by spending all their money on themselves, not by saving it.
Key verse: Don’t be selfish; don’t live to make a good impression on others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself. (Philippians 2:3)
Related verses: Deuteronomy 8:11; Proverbs 21:20; Luke 12:13-21; James 4:1-3; 5:1-6
Related questions: Is it better for people to save their money? Does Jesus want us to spend money?
Note to parents: Emphasize that saving is good if it is for a good purpose, such as providing for some future need.
It is bad if it’s just for hoarding. Help your child set goals for saving. Don’t let him or her continue to save without a goal.
Why Do Some People Hide Their Money?
Answer: Most people who hide money do so because they don’t want their money to be stolen.
The world has many bad people who look for ways to take other people’s money.
So people on a trip may hide their money in their motel room or suitcase.
And just about everyone keeps some money in their wallet or purse when they walk around town.
A good steward is careful with his or her money.
People who hide large amounts of money usually don’t trust the banks. T
hey think their money will be safer if they hide it in their house or in the ground.
But we should not be so afraid that we bury our money. God will take care of us even if something happens to our money.
Some people even hide money because they got it illegally. They know that if someone finds them with it, they will get in trouble.
But in the end they will be found out anyway. They can’t run from God forever.
Key verses: The servant with the one bag of gold came and said, “Sir, I know you are a hard man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate.
I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth and here it is.” (Matthew 25:24-25)
Related verses: Genesis 32:7-8; Matthew 6:19; 25:18, 26-27
Related question: How come some older people spend all their money and don’t put money in savings bonds each time they get paid?
Note to parents: Explain to your child that hiding small amounts of money is fine, but large amounts should be placed in the bank.
It is a safer place to keep money, and the money will earn interest.
Is The Stock Market A Place Where You Buy Animals?
Answer: Sometimes animals are called “stock” or “livestock” by people who raise them.
But the stock market is a place where people trade companies, not animals.
Anyone who buys stock in a company becomes part owner of that company.
They can sell their stock to other people if they want to.
Meanwhile, the company gets to spend the money on supplies, equipment, and workers that help the company grow.
Buying stock is one way to save for the future. The shares of a company are worth money.
If a company does well, its stock price will go up. People who own the Stock can sell it at the higher price.
But if the company I does not do well, the price will go down. People who sell I their stock at the lower price will lose money.
That’s why it’s unwise to put all your savings in stock.
Key verse: The servant who received the five bags of gold began immediately to invest the money and soon doubled it. (Matthew 25:16)
Related verse: Genesis 34:21
Related question: How do you make investments- where do you go?
Note to parents: If you invest in the stock market, show your children what you are doing and how you do it.
Let them see the results as well. If they are really interested, let them buy a small part of your share.
Then when you sell or when they want to sell, return their money plus their earnings or minus their losses. (Don’t shelter them from losses. They need to learn both sides.)