Inher i tance has torn families apart, strained s ibling relationships and destroyed marriages. What should be a peaceful transfer of family wealth often degenerates into bitter disputes marked by greed, deceit and malice. Relatives fight over land, houses and money they did little or nothing to acquire. The pursuit of unearned wealth can expose the ugliest sides of human nature.
Even my own family, despite its education and social exposure, has not been spared. Some relatives have displayed astonishing greed, claiming virtually anything within reach. The prospect of property can override reason, decency and respect for family. Education and social standing offer no guarantee against greed.
The Bibl e o f f e rs an interesting perspective. Proverbs 13:22 says a good person leaves an inheritance for their grandchildren. There is nothing wrong with parents working hard to provide for future generations. But Scripture also cautions against greed, dishonesty and the pursuit of wealth at the expense of righteousness.
Consider Abraham. God did not instruct him to remain in his father’s household, waiting to inherit the family estate. In Genesis 12, He called him to leave his country and family for a land He would show him. Abraham’s legacy was built through faith, obedience and courage, not dependence on inherited wealth.
That is the principle I subscribe to. I will not make inheritance the foundation of my future. I want to create my own legacy through honest work, determination and integrity. I am not a crying baby waiting to be fed from a table I did not build.
Unfortunately, too many people appear to embrace the opposite mentality. Rather than building their own futures, they wait for parents or uncles to die so they can claim a share of the family estate. They seem more interested in what relatives will leave behind than in what they can achieve themselves. This is dependency masquerading as entitlement.
More troubling is the pressure this menta l i ty places on parents. Some feel compelled to accumulate wealth for their children at any cost, compromising their integrity through corruption, theft and other dishonest schemes in the name of securing their families’ futures.
But what kind of blessing is an inheritance built on corruption? What legacy does a parent leave when wealth passed to children was acquired through the suffering and deprivation of others?
How can anyone take pride in wealth stolen from Covid-19 relief funds, intended to save lives and support vulnerable people? How can anyone celebrate an inheritance linked to scandals such as the Amaryllis Hotel affair while pensioners struggle to access benefits earned through years of service, some dying before enjoying the fruits of their labour?
That is not a legacy worth celebrating. It is injustice passed from one generation to another. God must have mercy on us!
We h a v e b e c o m e comfortable acquiring what does not belong to us. Personal enrichment takes precedence over the public good, while others’ suffering becomes an inconvenient consequence. Some regard passing the proceeds of wrongdoing to their children as success.
Yet Galatians 6:7 offers a warning: “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.”
We cannot steal public resources, enrich ourselves at the expense of vulnerable citizens and expect to escape accountability before God simply because our children i n h e r i t t h e p roce eds . Inheritance may transfer material wealth, but it cannot erase responsibility for how that wealth was acquired. We must repent.
We must redefine what it means to leave something behind: a legacy of integrity, faith, discipline and honest work, not wealth accumulated through corruption.
Younger generations must learn that personal effort matters. Inheritance should inspire, not breed idleness or entitlement. Children must work for what they want, build their own futures and respect what others have laboured to acquire. Their parents’ achievements should challenge them to do better, not make them wait to claim the rewards of their labour.
There is, of course, nothing wrong with inheriting land, houses or money acquired honestly. The problem is allowing inher itance to become an obsession, destroy family relationships or replace personal effort. Parents, too, should not confuse providing for their children with accumulating wealth at any cost.
The greatest inheritance is not property or money, but the values instilled in children: integrity, discipline, faith, responsibility and the dignity of honest work. Land can be grabbed, houses sold and money squandered; these values can sustain generations.
I would rather leave my children a clean name and a clear conscience than a fortune acquired dishonestly. That, to me, is an inheritance worth leaving behind
