Jan 31 Inheritance & The American Dream

Proverbs 13:22 “A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children…”

One of the greatest spiritual/Biblical principals that, in my opinion, many American Christians do not grasp or pursue revelation of is that of inheritance.  The “American Dream,” simplistically put, is “You can do anything and achieve anything through hard work.”  There is a lot of truth to this national ethos, however, the core of this is flawed from a Biblical perspective.  In Christianity, there are the truths of sowing and reaping, and stewardship.  However, a superior law, inheritance, exceeds these two laws.  The religious spirit will exalt sowing and reaping and stewardship while minimizing inheritance because the religious spirit focuses on what WE can do.

The problem I see in America is that people are proud (& loud) about all they have “earned.”  The old cliche, “self-made man,” is the antithesis of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  If we feel like we are solely responsible for our social standing, accumulation of material goods, business/organization’s success, etc., then we will unashamedly boast of such.  The problem is that this attitude carries over into our judgment of others whereby we end up expecting the same out of them…they need to “earn everything just like I did, through blood, sweat, and tears!”

Again, I am not a proponent of laziness and I wholeheartedly agree that apathy and laziness are causing a number of severe problems in our society.  But when we put a demand on others to “be like us or we can’t celebrate you”, then we have a problem.  Our hearts should be filled with love for one another, and out of this, we want to leave an inheritance…impart something of significance to the next generation so they are allowed to start where we finish; our ceiling becomes their floor.  Why?  So they can go further sooner than we ever could.

At times, it’s almost like we guilt people into apologizing for being blessed because they didn’t go through the same process of toil and tears that you had to endure.  But Proverbs 10:22 says, “The blessing of the Lord makes rich, and He adds no sorrow with it…” 

I do not want to give in to false humility and perpetuate a poverty mentality.  Nearly everything in our apartment has been given to us!  Furniture, entertainment pieces, bedding, baby stuff has all been freely given to us.  The only things we have purchased are our DVDs, CDs, clothes, food, and 1 of our 2 cars.  To some they may call that “spoiled.”  But if my heart is grateful to God and honoring towards those who have given to us, then I cannot apologize for God’s blessing and favor on our lives.

In Scripture, the blessing and inheritance of the father was highly coveted.  Jacob even cheated his way to get them, thus revealing their value.  The beautiful thing I see, though, is that the one who initiated the breakthrough (Abraham, Moses, Elijah, etc.) receive the credit throughout history.  Even though Joshua took Israel into the Promise Land and Elisha did twice the miracles that Elijah did, it was their “fathers” that appear on the Mount of Transfiguration with Christ, and they are the ones who are revered throughout Scripture.

So let’s reclaim this powerful principle of inheritance, and let’s stop judging (or apologizing, depending on which side you’re on) for God’s blessings.  And let’s see the favor and blessings of God increase on every future generation in your family!

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