The Bible and Your Estate Plan

The Bible has much to say about our wealth and how we are to manage it. Just as the scripture is our best guide to a successful life, it is also our best guide for dealing with the “stuff” God has allowed us to use during our time on earth.

Our starting point must be “where does our wealth come from?” Deuteronomy 8:17-18 makes this perfectly clear. “And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth, but thou shalt remember the Lord thy God; for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he swore unto thy fathers, as it is this day.” That verse gives us the reason we have wealth – to establish God’s covenant here on earth. Therefore it is incumbent upon us to use our wealth for its God-given purpose.

Once we understand where wealth comes from, then it is easier to understand that God owns it all.

Psalm 50:10 “For every beast of the forest is mine and the cattle upon a thousand hills.”

Haggai 2:8 “The silver is mine and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts.”

1 Chronicles 29:11 “Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all.

The proof that God owns it all is the indisputable fact that when we leave this earth, we take nothing with us! I Timothy 6:7 “For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can take nothing out.” It all stays on earth because it all belongs to God.

One of the best examples of this principle came from a police officer. He said that every time he arrests someone for drug possession the first words out of his or her mouth is “It’s not mine.” He responds with “Son, until they change the law from possession to ownership, I’m taking you in.” We own nothing, but by God’s grace and mercy, we possess much. Just as a person is responsible for what is in his possession, so, too, are we responsible for all that we possess.

God has made us manager of what he allows us to use and he has given us the responsibility of distributing the assets he has allowed us to use, at death. It is then our responsibility to have a plan in place and to make sure that plan is pleasing to God.

God expects us to take care of our families. That means taking care of their needs, not their wants. His word also says those who do not work should not eat, II Thessalonians 3:10. So he does not mean for us to use what he has given us to support a lazy or irresponsible slackard. He intends for all who are capable to take care of themselves.

Therefore, one aspect of determining the distribution of our assets, is to determine the needs of our family members. Once we have met those needs, we are freed to do great things for God’s kingdom with the rest of our assets. Dream for awhile – what would you like to see done at your church – what ministry in Florida would you like to benefit – what legacy would you like to leave? Everyone can do something. We have to dream and we have to plan.

Our basis for meeting the needs of our family members comes from God’s example in the book of Numbers. (Numbers 26:52-54) When He doled out the inheritance of land to the Israelite tribes, He did so based upon need, not equality. There is no requirement in scripture that we leave an equal distribution to each child. If a child or heir has no need, why add wealth upon wealth? Give it instead to the Lord. If a child or heir has a need, then meet that need, if possible.

We must also be good stewards in the manner in which we distribute our assets.

If a child cannot manage money well, it might be wise to place the child’s inheritance in a trust and give them only the income. Otherwise, it may be wasted and gone in a very short time. If a child has an addiction, perhaps the child’s share of the assets should be placed in a trust and allow the trustee to pay for food, clothing, shelter and education, but nothing else and require that the trustee pay directly to the provider and not through the child. Then provide that if the child becomes free of the addiction for a period of at least two years (longer if the situation demands it) then the child can receive the principal in the trust. Giving an inheritance outright to a child who suffers from a destructive addiction could cause the early death of the child since ample funding may be available for the purchase of drugs or alcohol. When a child is under the disability of an addiction, the parent needs to step in and put some safeguards in place through a well-crafted estate plan.

Scripture also tells us we are to “honor the Lord with our resources.” Proverbs 3:9(a). Our resources include everything we possess at the time of our death. Each of us, as Christians, should consider giving some of our resources to the Lord’s work either during our lives or at death. This is over and above the tithe as the rest of Proverbs 3:9 says, “and with the first fruits of all thine increase.” The first fruits are the tithe of our income. Our resources are all that we possess. For ideas on how you can use your resources for the Kingdom, see Lesson 5 on Doing Good – Charitable Gift Planning or contact the Office of Strategic Endowed Giving at 1-800-226-8584, extension 3030 or e-mail us at endowedgiving@flbaptist.org.