June 20th – Proverbs 20: An Invisible Inheritance?

“The righteous man leads a blameless life; blessed are his children after him.” – Proverbs 20:7

This passage could also be translated: “The just and lawful man walks continually in innocence, integrity and prosperity, his children are left with a legacy of happiness, honesty and righteousness.” Many people today, especially men, are almost obsessed with leaving a financial inheritance for their children. This is good, to a point. The Bible tells us:

“A good man leaves an inheritance for his children's children, but a sinner's wealth is stored up for the righteous.” – Proverbs 13:20

So being wise with our finances is important. It’s best to give our kids a “leg up” on their future. Starting them on the right foundation with their finances is important. Training them to understand simple concepts like spending less than they make and how to invest their money is important. But even more important is laying up for them an eternal inheritance, that’s NOT made with money! Think about it, what is a financial inheritance without integrity? Didn’t the Prodigal Son get a crazy awesome inheritance? But without a conscience or integrity, he blew it ALL on whores and wild living in no time at all! How would you like to see your decades of hard work go up in a puff of pot smoke like that? This makes me respect the response of the Father even more! He came RUNNING to his kid that had squandered decades of HIS hard work. Amazing!

So giving my kids a financial inheritance would be nice and I will do what I can to that end. But an inheritance of righteousness is even more important. It is my ambition to give my children the most precious inheritance of righteousness and integrity. They are going to watch their parents spend themselves completely on the Lord and His purpose for our generation. I’m going to teach them what a laid down life looks like. I’m going to show them a working model of a righteous life. They will know what it looks like to live a “blameless life.” Because my concern is an eternal inheritance, I may not be able to give them a huge financial inheritance, but what I will give them will be more valuable than a fully matured CD or fully funded IRA.

LIFE LESSON:

Not all inheritances are made of money. Those kind actually pay out more at death than cash.