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If I had to identify the area of Christian finances that is least understood, it would be inheritance. Not only do many people wreck their lives by hoarding, but they also wreck the lives of their children and grandchildren with an abundant inheritance. The result of giving large amounts of money to those who are untrained in its use can be seen in the parable of the prodigal son, Luke 15:11-24.
At least the father in this parable had enough sense to give his son the inheritance while he was living. He then had the opportunity to provide his son with counseling. Even so, the result of the inheritance was trouble for the recipient.
Large amounts of money given to children will usually be squandered to their disservice, and large amounts of money stored up for children in trust can be used to buffer them from God’s will. Is that your wish? Allow your children the joy of earning their own way. That doesn’t mean to impoverish them; provide for your family, but do not buffer them with great hoards of money.
God’s will concerning inheritances is partly expressed in Ecclesiastes 6:3. “If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, however many they be, but his soul is not satisfied with good things, and he does not even have a proper burial, then I say, ‘Better a miscarriage than he.’” This parable denotes the necessity of leaving the family some provision. God said that as godly men we leave our children’s children an inheritance, but that inheritance is spiritual.
The other aspect of God’s will can be found in Psalm 37:25-26. “I have been young, and now I am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, or his descendants begging bread. All day long he is gracious and lends; and his descendants are a blessing.”
It becomes obvious that the same promises God makes about lifetime provision extend from generation to generation. Provide for your family within reason. Trust God for their protection. God promises He will not let your offspring be forsaken.
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