By LA Askew
Originally published as a series on LinkedIn.
Legacy & Inheritance
No bling bling, no ching ching!
Wise wealth building means that we and our children (or families) are for financially stable for generations. The Bible instructs us to leave an inheritance, “A good person leaves an inheritance for their children’s children, but a sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous.” (Prov. 13:22 NIV) We are to build for our grandchildren, not our children. As Christians (and all believers in their faith), we are required to be good stewards over the blessings we are given.
In business, company founders build legacies by establishing a profitable name or brand. With a good reputation, great leadership, and consistent profit margin, owners can transfer their companies from generation to generation, such as S. C. Johnson (5 generations), Perdue Farms (2 generations), Comcast (2 generations), and Wal-Mart (3 generations). Each new generation has the potential to expand the brand, the family’s legacy, and its profit.
Many other families establish the same pattern of wealth building and inheritance, employing trust funds and other financial avenues for wealth building. Accordingly, the Bible says, “Houses and wealth are inherited from parents” (Prov. 19:14 NIV). Good parents should pass down sensible values that encourage wisdom, so children can manage their inheritances to continue the cycle of wealth increase.
Godly parents encourage their children to glorify God with their wealth. God’s blessings certainly ensure that money will continue to be a blessing to the family. Simply, wise choices maintain the cycle of wealth for generations, in businesses, and the home.
Ok, we are allowed a tiny bit of a little bling bling and ching ching!
Planning & Investing
We are constantly told to plan when it comes to investing money for the future. While this is wise, there is a difference between pursuing wealth and growing wealth while pursuing God. We should not chase money. Why? Money, no matter how carefully stored, can disappear in an instant:
Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. 1 Tim. 6:17 NLT
God wants us to make wise choices in all things, so the Bible also provides instructions for proper stewardship and investment:
PREPARE FIRST, BUILD NEXT: Do your planning and prepare your fields before building your house. Proverbs 24:27 NLT
DILIGENCE: Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds. Prov. 27:23 NIV; The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty. Proverbs 21:5 NIV
BUILD SLOWLY: Dishonest money dwindles away, but whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow. Proverbs 13:11 NIV
STORE YOUR RESOURCES: “The wise store up choice food and olive oil, but fools gulp theirs down.” Proverbs 21:20 NIV
DEAL JUSTLY: “One who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth and one who gives gifts to the rich–both come to poverty.” Proverbs 22:16 NIV.
“A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is his delight.” Proverbs 11:1 ESV (also Proverbs 16:11, 20:10, 20:23)
God even instructs to diversify investments: “But divide your investments among many places, for you do not know what risks might lie ahead. Ecclesiastes 11:2 NLT
Financial Responsibility
Proper management of resources is as important to God as it is to us? Yes, the Bible says the love of money is the root of all evil (1 Tim. 6:10), but money itself is not the root. Of course, we all want a better job, bigger house, nice car, and six vacation houses! However, if we cannot manage a little money properly, how can we manage more money properly: “If therefore ye will commit to your trust the true riches? (Luke 16:11 KJV).
Whether we like it or not, money answereth all things (Ecc. 10:19 KJV). That is, money is the preferred method of payment for what we want. Therefore, learning God’s instructions about handling our financial resources will ensure we don’t become poor and dishonor the name of God. We are also not to concentrate on being rich, because we then may deny (forget) God (Prov. 30:9).
Basic principles of wealth-building have a theme of integrity and fortitude: DILIGENCE: “Go to the ant, sluggard; consider her ways and be wise; who having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provides her food in the summer and gathers her food in the harvest.” Proverbs 6:6-8 KJV WISDOM: “Through wisdom, a house is built, and by understanding it is established; and by knowledge the rooms shall be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.” Proverbs 24:3-4 KJV
Reaping & Sowing
Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow (Gal. 6:7 NRSV)
We all know this concept by another name – karma. That is, you get what you give. Or you don’t get what you don’t give.
The Bible is full of stories about reaping and sowing. Usually, the concepts apply to spiritual seeds and fruit (e.g., sow kindness and reap kindness). However, the Biblical concept of reaping and sowing applies to various topics, from finances to marriage. Many times, we may not reap what we sowed, because “the fruit” of wealth is for someone else, such as our children. But if we are not careful, even what we do have can be taken away.
We reap financial stability by sowing self-discipline, wisdom, and frugality with the money we earn. And no, winning the lottery does not guarantee financial stability. Over time, wealth grows through God’s blessing, patience, and diligence. This concept also applies to business ventures and growing capital: we sow hard work, smart choices, and a little risk, and the payoff – reaping wealth – will continue long into the future!
In the Parable of the Ten Minas (Luke 19:20-26), Jesus talked about the man who did not sow what he was given to sow. Because he did not sow at all, what he did have was taken away. In finances and business, this is a sad reality: if we do not save and invest even what little we earn, more will be taken away through fees, missed opportunities, and debt accrual. When we don’t have the resources available, we end up borrowing and going into debt to compensate for the loss. We lose what little we have (and owe more money) in the long run.
