IS YOUR HOUSEHOLD . . . IN ORDER?
Have you been able to look beyond your own death to get your household in order? Getting one’s finances organized into an order that someone else can follow can be a surprisingly time-consuming, complicated job as Dave Williams shared in our Home Free video. There are reasons, beyond denial, that more than 70% of Americans do not prepare for their own deaths. Consider the number of accounts you have, their passwords, the peculiarities of your filing system both hard copy and on your computer, your own questions, the expense of an attorney, your busy schedule and ????? The complex realm of estate planning also requires some persistence. Please do not become one of those incomplete files in your attorney’s office. Follow Dave’s example to stick with it for the sake of your loved ones, and get ‘er done!
Heritage of Hope exists to help you Finish this Life Well. Getting your affairs in order as God commanded Hezekiah (2 Kings 20:1, Isaiah 38:1) is part of that process. To that end, we offer you three free forms you may find most helpful. On our Website (FinishLifeWell.org on the Store/Giveaways page), please download (1) The Letter of Last Instructions as an adjustable Word document. Its purpose is to help you gather all pertinent financial information into one document that will give your executor or successor trustee both direction and access. Be forewarned, it will require frequent updating. (2) The Heritage of Hope Checklist will guide you beyond the process of getting your affairs in order to making final arrangements and instigating team meetings—following our HOH Workbook chapter by chapter until all your affairs are in order. (3) The Estate Inventory Form will help you determine the value of your estate.
IS YOUR HOUSEHOLD . . . YOURS?
You think of it as your house, your car or you are working hard to make it so. Of course, you are the one being billed for electricity and gas. Not surprisingly, the majority of folks do assume they are the owners of their estate. If they are diligent enough to get their households in order before they die, they typically divide up their estate equally among their children. While their work ethic and diligence are commendable, their basic assumption of ownership is biblically incorrect.
The Bible has an entirely different view. Psalm 24:1 The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. When we calculate our net worth, the value of our estate, we are actually seeing how much God has entrusted to our management. Instead of ownership, it is called stewardship. We are God’s stewards or money managers. This may rock your boat, but consider that God created us and gave us the skills with which we earn our income. What we typically view as our earnings and assets are actually His. We are ultimately accountable to Him for how we use them! If this is a new concept, I sympathize. Stewardship is not a popular sermon topic, yet the Bible devotes many pages to it.
Remember that phrase we would all like to hear? “Well done, my good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.” It was spoken to the two stewards who had multiplied their master’s resources in Matthew 25:14-30. The important, life changing questions is . . . do you see yourself as the owner of your estate or God’s steward, his money manager? Is your household yours or His?
STEWARDSHIP CHANGES EVERYTHING
Stewardship may be solidly biblical, but it is very counterculture. To support the stewardship mindset and explore its ramifications, I recommend three authors who have given much study to this radical, life-changing, kingdom building, biblical principle. Randy Alcorn’s Managing God’s Money is steeped in scripture, yet it is immensely practical. If this is a new concept for you, Randy will answer many of your questions and enable you to adopt stewardship as a lifestyle. Another of his books, The Treasure Principle is much shorter but no less potent. In it, Randy is quite enthusiastic about helping his readers look ahead to their reward in Heaven. Per Randy Alcorn, If I’m God’s money manager, I’m not God. Money isn’t God. God is God. So God, money, and I are each put in our rightful place.
The focus of Splitting Heirs by Ron Blue is apparent in its humorous title. This book contains much biblical wisdom organized around a decision-making process you may find very helpful in your own estate planning process. Giving Wisely: Killing with Kindness or Empowering Lasting Transformation by Johnathan Martin, a former missionary, will help you become a wise, discerning steward who is able to avoid manipulation and do no harm. After reading such books and enough scripture to realize that you are actually God’s steward, how might your estate planning be affected? Of course, you will still provide for your family, but how might you further God’s kingdom? Perhaps you are usually biblically obedient but dismiss the concept of stewardship because your estate seems too small to be of use to God?
Consider the creative gift of one grandmother whose net worth was quite minimal. Creatively, she offered to finance one year of college for the grandchild that was willing to attend a Christian college. The grandson that accepted her offer became a Christian his freshman year! After completing his college and graduate studies, he pursued a career in estate planning and became an authority in Charitable Estate Planning. If you’ve watched our Heritage of Hope video series, you met Gene Christian on our Household video. The relatively small gift of Gene’s grandmother multiplied into millions being given to God’s kingdom. God is very good at multiplication! No matter the size of “your” estate, how might you offer it to God’s purposes? Remember the loaves and fishes? If all God’s people saw themselves as God’s stewards or money managers, imagine the radical impact on ministry and evangelism world-wide. Let’s embrace stewardship and go for the “well done!”
