What is the True Inheritance?

If you discovered that someone you loved hid from you that you had an inheritance because they didn’t think you were mature enough to handle all that money, how would you feel?

Now what if you struggled financially for years and had to come to that person for help just to get by?

And every time you came along asking they gave you a lecture about fiscal responsibility. Then they would give you some money. But, they made sure you felt a little guilt and shame.

In time, you get tired of feeling like this and you decide never to ask them for money again. You’d rather starve.

Eventually, you learn to live with less. Sometimes with next to nothing. But, you survive. And after some years of struggle, you figure out what you’re good at—what works and what doesn’t work. You get so good at seeing the patterns that eventually people pay you for your wisdom. You’re thriving.

One day, you decide to come back to that family member that shamed you and tell them what you’ve learned. And with pride in your eyes, you write them a check for $300,000–the $250,000 that you “borrowed” from them over the years plus an additional $50,000 interest.

But the person tears up the check and instead hand you a check for $2.5 million. Surprised, you ask them what it is for and try to refuse. You’re rich now and don’t need “their money”.

That’s when they tell you that when you were born, you were left a $3 million inheritance. The money is yours.

You don’t know how to feel. You’re so confused. You think about how you struggled all of your life until the past couple of years. Was it all for nothing. And if the inheritance was for $3 million, why did they only give you a check for $2.5 million?

They explain that they deducted the $250,000 you “borrowed”, paid themselves a management fee of $250,000 plus whatever interest your money gained over the years.

Hearing this, you’re livid. Your face is flush. All you can see is red. You can’t tell if you’re about to have a panic attack or blackout. You pray for strength.

By some miracle, you keep it together long enough to ask them why they would do this to you? Why would they let you struggle like this and essentially steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from you.

This is their response.

“If I put that money in your hands when you were a child, you would have never known its influence. It would have controlled you. You would have never been able to use it as you can now—to be of service and create a better world. Chances are you would be broke now and would have nothing to show for it. I protected you and served you. And now, you have everything you earned plus this additional surprise of $2.5 million. You can’t see how I served you now. But, if you’ve learned anything lasting from your struggles, you’d be thanking me. So, you’re welcome.”

This response is more than you can handle in the moment. So you tell the relative that you can no longer be around them. You just have one last question for them. How could they be so sure that you were going to make these mistakes and lose everything?

He tells you it is because for generation after generation, each member of your family was left an inheritance and each person squandered it and never taught the next generation to make better decisions than they did. In fact, he came to believe that because of their shame, a part of them accepted this pattern as “Just the way things are.” And, even worse, some of them even got together and stole the inheritances of the next generations and never even told them about it at all. So he vowed that the cycle would end with him if he ever was charged to pass down the inheritance.

He then says, “No one ever taught me better. I taught you what I learned the hard way hoping that it would be easier for you and future generations. If, I lose my relationship with you because of this effort, it was worth it because you won’t soon forget and I imagine you will prepare future generations just as I have prepared you.”

Hearing all of this, how would you respond?

What was the true inheritance?

Based on Ecclesiastes 7:11

“Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing and benefits those who see the sun.”