Sunday, December 21, 2014

Inheritance

Inheritances and trusts have been in a number of conversations I've had these past few months.  My parents have been getting their "affairs in order" for ages now, so every conversation involves more instructions, even though I'm not the executor.  It's the new phase of our interactive game . . .

My kids have all scattered like a covey of quail and to date, none have shown any real interest in country living, much less Covenant living, so my "affairs" are not yet in order.  Mr. B's mother died this past year, so all of his family conversations have involved "last wishes" and trust resolution . . .

In an attempt to divert every conversation from after death wishes and maintain my sanity, I've tried to interject a little humor.  As the instructions for what happens after death become more and more involved for everyone, I've suggested it might be easier to figure out how to take it with them . . . I'm only kidding, of course.  What I've truly taken note of, is the fact, inheritances on the American economic landscape have become sparse, and reduced to nothing more than checks in the mail.  Family farms are mostly a thing of the past.  Life insurance policies became the new inheritance a few decades ago, and now we see insurance companies are either collapsing or becoming an arm of the government.

The 80s afforded the upper Middle Class the opportunity to become stockholders and invest in mutual funds.  In the 90s, pension plans became 401Ks.  Of course we know what happened to a great deal of those investments at about the time the investors were retirement age, in the early part of this new millenium. The Biblical principles of inheritance and blessing have been lost in our religiously materialist society.

I wrote several years ago in one of my books that end of life health care would take most of what was left of American inheritances, and that's by and large what is happening.  Many folks die unconscious with tubes in every orifice.  Sadly, it is mostly unlawful for a person to simply die with dignity and their heirs gathered around them as Jacob did.  There's the added factor that most Americans have not raised children that they want to take care of them in their later years.  This is also a sad reflection of our society, dating back three and four generations.

The future of America doesn't look very promising, and there is no longer any way to deny the Scriptural reason.  I am so happy for the young families who are raising their children to love Messiah and follow Torah.  That is the inheritance of promise.

A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.  a Proverb of Holy Scripture

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