It is most parents’ desire to leave an inheritance for their children and grandchildren. They want to ensure that their children do not experience hardships as they did and so they sometimes deny themselves certain luxury in order to save every penny for their children.

Other parents believe that it is important that children learn to work hard and build their wealth. They believe that leaving a large amount of money to their children would only harm them instead of helping them.

The spoiled child by debspoons/Freedigitalphotos.net

Whether parents should or should not leave an inheritance for their children is debatable. Many Christian parents worked hard to leave a legacy for their children and grandchildren because they believe that this is what the Lord required of them. Indeed, Proverbs 13:22 state that ‘a good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children…”

Consequently many parents felt obligated to leave some sort of material possessions such as houses, land or money not only for their children but also their grandchildren. Hence they will work two or three jobs; or work long hours to build their business in order to gain as much wealth as possible. Even when their children are able to take care of themselves these parents are still working around the clock because their ultimate goal is also to provide a legacy for their grandchildren.

Some of these parents refuse to rest or enjoy their labor because their passion to achieve their objective far exceeds their personal or spiritual needs. As a result some of them acquire stress related illnesses and some even collapsed and died suddenly. Many parents are victims of this tragic situations and it is almost impossible to help them.

Workaholic by holohololand/Freedigitalphotos.net

I was one of those parents who dreamt of purchasing land in order to build houses so that my children would one day inherit them and would live rent/mortgage free. In spite of all my hard work I was never ever able to save enough money to purchase a land much more to build a house. Every time I thought I had the money there would suddenly appear an obstacle that would snatch the money away.

Finally the Lord told me that I should  forget about building houses and laying up treasures on earth where moth and  rust will destroy and where thieves break in and destroy (Matthew 6:19-20).

He further stated that my children may never use or appreciate those earthly treasures because children are fickle (changeable or unpredictable). I should instead focus on building my body into a holy and righteous house for him where he can dwell and be glorified.

A godly life was the only legacy that my mother left for me and I am reaping the benefit from it. This is the legacy that I also intend to leave for my children. So am I saying that inheritance is not important? No this is far from what I am implying.

The above verse in Proverbs states, ‘a good man.’ The adjective good refers to a man who is wise and godly. God gives wisdom and knowledge to a man who is good in his sight. Such a man will know it is foolish and plain vanity to toil all his life under the sun just to leave it to a man (child) who will come after him. Who knows if such a man will be wise or foolish in how he handle his inheritance?

Therefore it is better that men (parents) eat and drink and allow their souls to enjoy the good in their labor as this is the will of the Lord and it is also their heritage from God (Ecclesiastes 2:1-26; 5:8-20). In other words parents who acquire wealth honestly by their hard labor should spend part of it on themselves enjoying it and another portion should be left for their children.

There is a second part of the verse in Proverb 13:22 which is very important and it states, ‘But the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.’

Living a righteous and holy life in God is more important than material possessions because when you leave this legacy to your children the Lord will bless them with wealth. God will use people to bless them with favors, grants, scholarships, job opportunities which will guarantee that they become wealthy.

As the legacy of godliness and uprightness is passed from one generation to the other so will the favors and blessings of God.

As for man his days are like grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes. For the wind passes over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children, to such as keep his covenant, and to those who remembers his commandments to do them. (Psalms 103:15-18)

Happy family relaxing in garden by imagerymajestic/Freedigitalphotos.net

Living a godly life and bonding with your children in love and unity is the best inheritance to leave for them.

Featured image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici/Freedigitalphotos.net

Published by Beverley

Beverley has been serving the Lord since she was a child. At an early age, she recognized that God had a special plan for her life, but it was not until in her adulthood that she surrendered her total life to God and accepted the mandate that God placed on her life. The Lord called her into His Kingdom to be an encourager, intercessor, teacher, scribe, priest, and to proclaim the Word of God. Since then, Beverly has established a blog to teach us to become the oil and wine. The oil and wine are purified and mature products, which is the advanced level that the Lord expected of us. In 2017, Beverley published her first book, Harm Not The Oil And Wine. In it, she described her trials and how God helped her to overcome them, and to live more victoriously. The book also exposed the enemy of our souls with detailed information about his past defeats and future extinction. Wright spents most of her time studying the Bible to know the truth of God’s Word. She believes that only God’s truth can expose the deception of the enemy, and uproot and tear down spiritual strongholds. You can learn more about Beverley’s life and testimony on her website becomingtheoilandwine.com. You can also find her on Facebook and Google+ under the name of her blog, and on Twitter as @Theoilandwine. View all posts by Beverley