2 SEPTEMBER

THE GREAT INHERITANCE

“Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it.” (Proverbs 13:11)

Here is an interesting story, titled “How Did You Become Rich?”

A young man asked an old rich man how he made his money. The old guy fiddled with his worsted wool vest and said, “Well, son, it was 1932, the depth of the Great Depression. I was down to my last nickel. I invested that nickel in an apple. I spent the entire day polishing the apple and, at the end of the day, I sold the apple for ten cents. “The next morning, I invested those ten cents in two apples. I spent the entire day polishing them and sold them at 5:00 pm for 20 cents. I continued this system for a month, by the end of which I’d accumulated a fortune of $1.37.”

“And that’s how you built an empire?” the boy asked. “Heavens, no!” the man replied. “Then my wife’s father died and left us two million dollars.”

Many have won lotteries and frittered the money away. Many have made a lot of money quickly–legitimately or not–but have lost most of it from unwise investments.

You may wonder why the above story is told like that, starting with shining and selling apples that did not yield much. But the point is that the process taught the rich old man the hard and difficult process of making money, the process of gathering little by little and therefore how to seek wise investments to sustain his inherited wealth.

Jesus has left us a great inheritance! For many, daily living may be a struggle, like polishing the apple a whole day and getting only ten cents; but our Saviour has left us His will, in which we have hope not only in this life but in the world to come.

Are we investing and growing our inheritance?

ACTION: Invest your time, treasures and talents in ventures that are beneficial for now and for eternity.

PRAYER: Thank you, Lord Jesus for the great inheritance I have in you. Strengthen me to make the best of the opportunity you have given me to enjoy it.