Preparing Sons to Provide for a Single-Income Family

With a title like that there should be no doubt as to the content of a book.

Steven Maxwell and his wife Teri have authored several books that have been a great practical help to Christian families, particularly homeschool families.   They have eight children, some of whom have written some fictional accounts of the life of a family called the Moody family.  My boys have enjoyed us reading these stories to them, as they are a little snapshot of the life of a homeschool family, complete with the ups and downs that come with the territory.

Steve writes this book in order to help parents train their sons to provide for a single-income family.  Modern American middle-class economics being what they are, it is almost a presupposition that each household is a dual-income family.  Take a look at housing costs for “middle-class” homes and you will see what I am talking about.

So, how do parents raise sons to have the skills to be able to be the sole providers of their family?

Maxwell shows that living rightly regarding work is a mark of Christian character. He says, “Parents should teach their children that work is a gift from God. Workers with that attitude are a pleasure to work with and will have a positive influence on other employees. Their job will be secure and their wages will increase. What are your children’s attitudes regarding work?”

Furthermore, we must listen to God’s perspective on money…

“We are not to worry about how much income our sons can earn for their families. However, as we build the foundation of our sons’ futures, we need to “count the cost” and consider that there are many important things we need to teach and train them in. If they are pleasing to the Lord, He will provide them with the income that is right for them.”

Chapter four answers the question, “What does it take to make ends meet?” by showing the difference between “needs” and “wants”. Again, this is an issue of character formation in our sons (and daughters).

The three pillars of training sons are: your training, your example, and your prayer. Maxwell shares his consternation with the popular misunderstanding of Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child…”, and says:

“I’m seeing children who are being raised to be children all of their lives. They are being trained, but not in the way they should go. It appears that either parents do not have Scriptural goals for their children, or they are not raising their children consistent with their goals. The result will be the same. Parents need to ask themselves what their goals are for their children. They then should examine those goals to see if they are consistent with Scripture. In another twenty years, the entertainment-focused Christian youth of today will be entertainment-focused adults who act much like they did in their teen years.”

and also…

“If the years of one’s youth mean one fun activity or sport after another, when do children learn to enjoy work? Must our children always have great fun while being educated? Will it spoil their childhood if they don’t have lots of playtime? Am I more concerned that my child will shake his finger in my face and whine, “You deprived me of being a child!” or of him not being a man of God who is able to provide adequately for a family?”

Such is the straight-talking that makes up this book by Maxwell.  He goes on further to explain age-by-age how it is that we should teach our sons about money, work, economics, spending, etc., and closes with the chapter, “Will he be prepared?”

Will our sons be prepared? As the father of four sons, I pray that I may be faithful and that God will bless my efforts at raising my boys to be God-honoring and responsible in their vocational lives. This book provides much fodder for discussion and thought.