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Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing and benefits those who see the sun. Ecclesiastes 7:11

Small town logic is brutal but often true. This was made evident to me during a conversation I had at a local coffee shop. Our discussion turned to a local tragedy. A young adult had been killed in a single-car rollover. Reports were that the victim was under the influence at the time of the accident that claimed his life.

One of the men sitting at the table asked the name of the deceased. When he was told who it was, he shook his head and responded something like this, “Yeah, it’s a tragedy, but you know, his father was a drunk.”

His statement bothered me at first. It didn’t seem fair to minimize the accident by pointing to something that happened to someone else in the past. The more I thought about that conversation, the more I realized that while my feelings of injustice were true, the reality was, the reaction of the older gentleman at our table also carried truth to it.

Like it or not we are, in a sense, victims of our past. We’ve learned certain habits, thoughts and tendencies from our parents or others that went before us. We really have two choices in life. We can learn from those who have gone before us, or we can fall victim to the negative things we’ve gleaned from them.

There is a lot of truth to the old adage, “Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

King Solomon said it a different way. “Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing and benefits those who see the sun.” We all hope to leave our children a big inheritance. We want them to be better off than we were. But the reality is, leaving them an example of Godly wisdom will be of a bigger benefit in the end.

Don’t just spend your entire life striving to provide your children with an inheritance that can be easily squandered. The wisdom you leave them will be of far greater value than any material possession you have.

Here are some questions to ask yourself to determine the kind of inheritance you are preparing for those who go behind you:

1. What do you worry most about? Spiritual growth or physical/financial health?
2. Where do you spend your time? The golf course or your knees in prayer for your kids and grandkids?
3. Will those who come behind you remember you for being an encourager or a judge?
4. Do you talk about the weather and sports more than you do topics of faith and grace?
5. Does your Bible suffer from dust or worn pages?

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, help us to strive daily to leave an inheritance of wisdom that others will be able to use to guide them through life. Amen.