What Will Your Children Inherit?
Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
his greatness no one can fathom.
One generation commends your works to another;
they tell of your mighty acts.
They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty—
and I will meditate on your wonderful works.
They tell of the power of your awesome works—
and I will proclaim your great deeds.
They celebrate your abundant goodness
and joyfully sing of your righteousness..
Psalm 145:3-7
When my grandfather came to this country from Norway, he was in his mid-teens. He expected to live with his older brother while he learned the language and found a job. Instead, when he arrived, his brother was gravely ill and died within the month.
He worked extremely hard to get an education, and by the time my mother was a teenager, he was a successful builder in some of Chicago’s most fashionable neighborhoods. Designing and building houses for the wealthy was very rewarding during the 1920’s. But when the stock market crashed in 1929, many of his clients could not honor their contracts for houses already under construction.
His attorneys and accountants advised him that his personal fortune was protected. They told him to use his business assets to pay off his accounts, starting with the biggest businesses. Then, when the economy improved, he would still have his personal wealth and important business connections with which to start over again.
Grandpa said, “No. When people made deals with me, they trusted me. We will liquidate as many of my assets as possible. My family and I can move to a more modest home. My children can take time off from college and get jobs. And we’re going to pay all of our bills, starting with the day laborers and other workers.
His advisers protested, “It’s the big guys you’ll need to do business with after this blows over. Pay them first.”
Grandpa said, “They are like me. They have other resources to fall back on. We’ll start with those who have nothing and work our way up.”
The houses he built in Oak Park, Hinsdale and Western Springs are still lovely. The home he had built for his family was sold to the publisher of one of Chicago’s newspapers. My grandpa got a job as a salesman for Gerber baby food, sometimes having to make deliveries himself.
As a result of his strategy, I did not inherit any financial wealth from Grandpa Johnson. But I did inherit the rich spiritual legacy of a man who loved Jesus, loved his family and paid all his bills. I wouldn’t trade the legacy of my grandfather for anything.
He was a man who spent his life taking the gospel into the inner city, seeking to lead those with alcohol addictions to Christ. My mother spent her teen years and early adulthood going with him to play the piano in those inner city missions. The integrity of my grandfather is worth so much more than any financial gain he could have left behind, and his life continues to have an impact generations after his death.
When we live in obedience to God, depending on him for our daily bread, our lives are characterized by the grace of gratitude. Much of the world is concerned with simple survival. It’s not that God wants us to spend our lives in grinding poverty. God loves the poor, but God does not love poverty. Nowhere in scripture do we read that God loves poverty.
God wants us to have a realization of our dependence on Him. This is why we are taught to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Not because we don’t know whether or not we’ll have anything to eat, but because everything we have comes from God. We owe him everything. Therefore, we should live with an attitude of gratitude. If you’re not grateful for a place to sleep tonight and food to eat, then you are in trouble spiritually. When we realize how richly God has blessed us, we will express our gratitude by meeting the needs of others.
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