Hello, everyone! Welcome back to the Self-Reliant Steward Podcast. I’m your host, Damia Shimmin.
Today’s money trivia question is:
How much money did the wealthiest American in history give over the course of his lifetime?
Answer: John D. Rockefeller gave away $540 million (unadjusted for inflation) before his death in 1937 at the age of 97. In today’s dollars, this would be over $15 billion.
Can you tell what today’s episode is about?
We are continuing our discussion of mistakes teens make with money and how to help them avoid or overcome these mistakes. Today, we are talking about mistake number five out of eight. And the mistake is not giving.
Now, if your first thought is that teenagers have nothing to give, let me see if I can open your eyes to a few things.
Giving does not just involve money. We can give of our resources (which includes more than just money), our time, and our talents. Even if a teenager doesn’t have any money right now, they have time and talents they can give to helping other people.
Teenagers can also start earning money that they can then give a portion of. If you have been listening to my podcast from the beginning, you will already know that I highly recommend encouraging your children to start earning money as soon as they can start working.
Why do I consider not giving to be a mistake?
When we don’t give, we are not keeping the Lord’s commandments and we are not keeping our baptismal covenant. The Lord commands us to pay tithing and to help the poor. Part of the covenant we make at baptism is that we will bear one another’s burdens, which includes caring for the poor and needy.
Another reason that not giving is a mistake is illustrated in 2 Corinthians 9:6-7, which states that
“He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly….” When we withhold our resources or our help, we are sowing sparingly and we are not going to receive the blessings the Lord promises to those who keep His commandments.
The verses continue, “and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.”
These verses show us that there are blessings that come to us when we give, a bounty of blessings in fact.
My mom cleaned out her closet of everything that was old or worn, and donated the clothes that no longer fit. Her budget was too tight to replace anything, but a few weeks later, my mom received an overwhelming amount of clothes from her sister, who was also cleaning out her own closet. After my mom filled her closet, she ended up donating two big black garbage bags full of clothes.
This experience reminds me of a quote in Leslie Householder’s book, “Hidden Treasures.” She says, “God pays more than yard sale shoppers.”
Serving others also helps us look outside ourselves and not be so focused on our own problems. When I was a service missionary a few years ago, I taught a short version of my money management workshop that is now called “Steward’s Quest.”
While teaching that workshop to a group of youth, I was not thinking about my own situation of not having any money; I was focused on helping them gain some of the knowledge they need to become wise stewards of what they had and would have in the future.
The Lord’s promise throughout the Book of Mormon is that if we keep His commandments, we will prosper. One of His commandments is to give to the poor.
Deuteronomy 15:7 reads, “If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother.”
President Gordon B. Hinckley said, “We hope that through the payment of liberal fast offerings there will be more than enough to provide for the needs of the less fortunate. If every member of this church observed the fast and contributed generously, the poor and the needy—not only of the Church, but many others as well, would be blessed and provided for. Every giver would be blessed in body and spirit, and the hungry would be fed, the naked clothed according to need.”
If everyone gives to the poor, everyone can prosper.
There are many other benefits of giving. Giving of their time while in high school can help teenagers when applying for college and scholarships. Service can help children learn to work. Relationship skills can be developed through acts of service. Joy is one of the greatest benefits of serving others.
Christlike attributes are cultivated through giving. Charity, gratitude, kindness, and selflessness are some of those attributes.
In his journal Wilford Woodruff wrote, “I will exhort all my young friends to not cherish selfishness; but if you have any, get rid of it as soon as possible. Be generous and noble-hearted, kind to your parents, brothers, sisters and play-mates. Never contend with them; but try to make peace whenever you can. Whenever you are blessed with any good thing, be willing to share it with others. By cultivating these principles while you are young, you will lay a foundation to do much good through your lives, and you will be beloved and respected of the Lord and all good men.”
Giving helps us grow into the person the Lord desires us to become.
Now that we know many of the blessings that come from giving, what can we do to help teenagers to give of their time, talents, and resources?
Suggestion #1 Give to God. This is tithing. Teach your children about tithing and offerings and be an example to them of a faithful tithe payer.
President Nelson shared that “becoming a full-tithe payer changed me. That is when I learned that paying tithing is all about faith, not money. As I became a full-tithe payer, the windows of heaven began to open for me. I attribute several subsequent professional opportunities to our faithful payment of tithes. Paying tithing requires faith, and it also builds faith in God and His Beloved Son.”
I know that the Lord helped me to graduate from BYU-Idaho debt-free with several thousand dollars in the bank, because I am a full-tithe payer.
Do you want to know what the wealthiest American of all time said about tithing? John D. Rockefeller said, “I never would have been able to tithe the first million dollars I ever made if I had not tithed my first salary, which was $1.50 per week.”
According to Wikipedia, “Rockefeller’s charitable giving began with his first job as a clerk at age 16, when he gave six percent of his earnings to charity, as recorded in his personal ledger. By the time he was twenty, his charity exceeded ten percent of his income. Much of his giving was church-related.”
Suggestion #2 Give to our fellow human beings. This is service and giving of resources. Giving your kids opportunities to practice while they are young will help them cultivate a generous heart.
One idea to help your children is: if one of your children wants to give a gift, have them use their own money to purchase the gift. If they don’t have any money, have them do something to earn the money.
A simple service idea for the whole family is to volunteer at your local food pantry. If you need other service ideas, check out websites like Just Serve.
When I was 12, my family and I made cookies at The Ronald McDonald house for families with children in the hospital to enjoy. It was fun to spend time with my family serving others who were experiencing a difficult time in their lives.
When I am driving and I see individuals on the street corners with signs asking for help, I feel uncomfortable about the idea of stopping and giving them money. One simple thing to do instead would be to put together lunch sacks and give them.
Suggestion #3 Give to yourself. Financially, this is saving, which will be a topic for another episode. I will just say that giving to oneself is just as important as giving to the Lord and giving to others, so don’t skip it. Giving to ourselves also means doing self-care. If you don’t fill yourself, you won’t have anything to give to others. We need to teach children how to fill themselves, so they will have something to give others.
Remember the increased feelings of kindness and generosity at Christmastime? We can bring these feelings into the rest of the year by choosing to give of our time, talents, and resources and teaching children to do the same.
What things have you done to help your children learn the importance of giving?
I’d love to hear.