The Inheritance Fight

A follower asks Jesus: 
“Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” It’s a dilemma we all face or are going to face one day. And it must have been a problem in Palestine as well. In the few words and lessons, we have from Jesus, this one is a very pertinent one. The Inheritance Fight. 

Oh, how so many of us can identify with this. Ask any estate lawyer. Families are destroyed because of the greed that comes when the patriarchs die and leave much to be dispersed among the heirs, those who are left behind. Death is tough enough, more for the survivors than the one dying with hope of seeing Christ.  But when it comes to money, memories, and materialism, there is nothing more vicious than the reading and interpreting of the last will and testament of a parent or grandparent. 

 Last testimonies are huge in the US. “Separacion de vienes" is similar in Uruguay to protect a family member from greed attacks by other members of the family.  If anyone has anything of value, once an adult, he or she must have a will or a document of dispersing, in other words, declaring who gets what. And it needs to be detailed - like if you are not responding mentally, what TV program or music do you want playing in the room, if any; or do you want the dog or cat in the bed beside you, or who gets the cast iron skillet or apple tart recipe.

 Under the guidance of my father, I signed my first will at age 30. And have changed it many times since. But, plan as one does, details or not, death  will stir up all sorts of hostility and hurt.  I am sorry to say, this happened in my little family ten years ago.  Greed raised its ugly head, and relationships splintered into hatefulness because heirs didn’t get the teacups or silver service or sofa or diamond necklace they wanted. My father and brother had passed away with no problem. Then my mother died and left a large inheritance of “stuff”. She had designated in her will a few of the valuable items that she hadn’t already put in the hands of some prior to death. But unknown to me, she had put in my hands the task of dispersing her entire estate of “things”- both home and garden - left in her mansion. Alas. I wanted nothing from my mother but love. This was a shock. And I certainly didn’t want the task of picking who got what from the glossary of house-hold goods, from trinkets to horse trophies to trunks and tables. 
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Jesus warned: “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” He referred to those who keep everything, the hoarders who fill drawers and closets and garages and every nook and cranny with “stuff” that darkens the goodness in one’s heart and soul. Even today, ten years later, the anger still gurgles a bit in the soul. I keep praying, “We are but a tiny family. What is going on, God?’ We need each other, not the stuff.

In Colossians, to paraphrase Paul:  If you have been raised with Christ, seek not the gold watch or the silver butter dish, but seek those things that are above, like the saints and the angels, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. We must focus our minds on things in the heavens, not on things that are on earth. When we die, whether we return to ashes or are placed in a tomb, all of us will have become valueless, except for the goodness, the love, the memories, the laughter, the saintly part of our life which is hidden with God.  So, we are ordered to put away greed, which is idolatry with a whole list of attitudes. Instead, we must make friends with our saintly soul, so we can be by him, with him, in him throughout eternity. 

But it seems heirs inheriting haven’t taken this advice nor have they paid attention. Eve was greedy for wanting to know the taste and results of biting an apple on the tree of life. She was punished. And certainly, Cain and Abel, the first sons who took the wrong road, a murder because of greed and envy.  But here we are today in a world where Greed is the top of the list of sin and crime. Currently, it seems the greedy are winning, that “one percent” of billionaires, who earn, hoard, invest, scam and launder most of the money in this world. And few of those seriously share with the needy, the 99 per cent who struggle to keep shoes on their feet, food in the fridge and water in the tank in most of the world. I have been studying women saints in our Christian history and have learned that the young ones thought keeping their virginity pleased Christ and were sainted, but most female saints were wealthy women who sold all their possessions to establish monasteries, nunneries, and schools for children. It was a saintly act. It was honorable. These women knew you can’t take anything with you in death.

 The Ecclesiastes story confirmed that: “All is vanity and a chasing after the wind.”  The teacher admitted he hated all the hard work he had put into his life, because having worn out his own wisdom, knowledge, and skills to be successful, he now had to leave the profits, the successes, and the booty to those who came after him, who did not toil for it. Isn’t this the same trauma that we face today — burdened by our possessions, having to leave them to someone who might not appreciate them, realizing that we have too much and too many have nothing? Do we really need art on the wall or four skillets or silver tea services that never are used anymore? Wouldn’t it be better to be unburdened and without fear that something might be stolen by thieves or destroyed by a tornado in a minute? 

When we are gone, in the soil or burnt ashes, we are gone and hopefully the angels lift our remains and our souls in their arms toward heaven, and may we leave a bit of joy in our wake, knowing that life is not about abundance of possessions, but love. This is the love that carries us to the arms of Christ. May we meet there with nothing but that love. It will be all we need.

 ~ Rev

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audrey@audreytaylorgonzalez.com
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