I have begun to hear a term "generational wealth." Some thoughts.
Part of me does not believe in it. I think it is each generation's, each person's, responsibility to build his/her own "wealth." By wealth I mean savings and ability to take care of one's family, and to be ready through investments for the later part of one's life when working is no longer an option. It is not my parents' job to pass something on to me, nor mine to my child or grandchildren. In other one, each person fends for themselves. The alternative, to me, seems to be a sense of expectation that the previous generation owes us something, even to the point of wishing someone would die so we are rewarded with money or property we did not earn.
My parents left me no money at all. I had to put out some money when my mother passed. I do not harbor any ill will about that. She was my mom. I didn't expect anything from my mother-in-law, who willed her house to my son. It is currently a bit of an albatross because she wanted a family member to live in it until their death, so there are still expenses with its upkeep and taxes. When we sell it sometime in the distant future, it will be an asset, I suppose. For now it is a burden. (I was the executor of her estate and therefore still involved in it.)
I worked hard in my life to have what I have. Of course, it is only because God gave me health and long life to build something.
But I know that generational wealth means more than getting a payout at a parent's death. Our parents give us more than that. Also, immigrants often come here with nothing, starting from zero. Being American many generations back, as I am (I can trace to late 1600s on my mother's side), is a source of wealth, although those relatives descended from Cornelius Vanover (anglicized name from the Dutch for "by the river") were poor Appalachian farmers. We didn't have to start over again, and we always had a sense of belonging here. I never had to adjust to another country or feel I didn't belong. I'm as American as they come.
So, despite my overwhelming Puritan work ethic, I know generational wealth is psychological and spiritual if not, in my case, financial. It is only because of God I do not have to worry about my next meal or keeping a roof over my head now, in a period called retirement that I am still trying to figure out.
So we come to Ephesians 1:11-14 again.
11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.
13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who[d] is the [e]guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.
We have obtained an inheritance (it is not natural, not genetic) by God's intervention that has its origin in eternity "past." This inheritance makes it possible for us to exist in a state of "praise of His glory." Note that phrase is at the end of 12 an 14, like a poem. Our inheritance is to be able to "praise His glory" now and later. Being sealed in the Holy Spirit allows this status and fellowship and worship. The metaphor of guarantee, down payment, or earnest money is very real for us, even today. We sometimes lose are investment by not keeping up the payments. The Holy Spirit of God is not going to forget to keep up the payments, if we extend the metaphor.
I have often bemoaned how we do not appreciate the full ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Here is an example. The Holy Spirit is the promise and presence of what is to come.
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