Estate Planning
His spirit departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish. Psalm 146:4 NASB
Perish – “We’re spending our children’s inheritance,” said the man reclining in the deck chair on the cruise ship. Yes, of course, it was a joke. I’m sure he planned to leave an amount of his estate to his children, but perhaps David’s sentiment and the realty check of Qohelet is a little closer to the truth. On the day of death, all the plans perish, including those we intended to outlive us. Doesn’t the Teacher tell us as much? “And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun. This too is futility” (Ecclesiastes 2:19). You work and work, intending that your efforts will reward you and those after you, but you never know. As the history of many wealthy families reveals, those who earned are often devoured by those who spend. And what’s true for individuals is also true for societies. There is no guarantee that the foundation will prevail.
Of course, Westerners comfort themselves by projecting a perfect afterlife. In the next world, things will last—forever. Life won’t be the topsy-turvy rollercoaster ride we experience now, without the security of timeless values. Everything will be right and just. This may actually be true, and we certainly hope so, but it doesn’t help us here. Perhaps that’s why the biblical emphasis isn’t on the ‘olam ha’ba. Abraham lived a full life. That’s the biblical theme. Make it count while you can. Afterward isn’t up to you.
The Bible does suggest that a good person leaves an inheritance. The next generation matters. But this is tempered with the reality of unpredictability. The only constant in God. He cares about those who follow. In fact, He specifically tells us that He practices oversight for at least three to four generations, even when the fathers are sinful. So, there’s some comfort in that. We don’t know how things will go, but God watches nevertheless. All the more reason to let Him do the job we can’t. We need to pay attention to today.
What actions on our part are the best fortification against an uncertain future? Well, God Himself gave us the answer when He established His nation.
These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. And you shall repeat them diligently to your sons and speak of them when you sit in your house, when you walk on the road, when you lie down, and when you get up. You shall also tie them as a sign to your hand, and they shall be as frontlets on your forehead. You shall also write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:6-9 NASB
This is what you can do. It’s the best inheritance you can provide. And, by the way, it’s an inheritance that you can bestow any time. Just get started.
Topical Index: inheritance, perish, eternal life, Psalm 146:4
