BE A GOOD STEWARD
Regarding Freedom, President Ronald Reagan is credited with saying, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same…” The same can be said about wealth. According to Money Magazine, 70% of wealthy families lose everything by the second generation. Are you prepared for your grandkids to have to start over at the bottom?
Perhaps one of the most important skills you can pass on to your family is how to be a good steward. The dictionary defines stewardship as - taking care of something like a large household, the arrangements for a group or the resources of a community. This definition is in keeping with the use of this word in the New Testament. In ancient times, households were very large and perhaps included as many as 100 folks. The job of the steward was to dispense/distribute the riches/resources of the household to the members of the household. Just think of all the clothes, shoes, meals, medicine, etc. that needed to be regularly distributed by the Steward. The Greek word is a combination of two words Oiko-nomos. Oikos is the word for house or household and nomos is administration, arrangement, or law. Therefore, the oikonomos was the household arrangement of dispensing the resources of the household to the members of the family.
Oikonomos is where we get the word economy. Many nations on the face of the earth have an abundant supply of natural resources, but not every nation has an “oikonomos” (economy) or household arrangement for distributing those resources to all its citizens. (Sidebar economics lesson – Countries that employ capitalism have wealthier citizens because it is the most effective oikonomos for distributing the riches of the country to the most citizens). The word for economy in the Bible is also translated in some verses as stewardship which brings us back to the subject of this blog.
To be certain, your legacy should include your wealth and earthly possessions. But there is so much more to life than material things. Stewardship should also include your family heritage, your spiritual beliefs, as well as your morals and values. An argument could be made that passing on material wealth to your heirs is the least important of all the things that gives your brief time on earth any lasting value.
At Van Der Noord Financial Advisors, we care for and protect your finances and we even facilitate in making sure you have proper and adequate estate planning documents, but for all the really “important stuff”, we encourage you to take time and take stock of what your “resources” are and how you want to distribute them to your family. Make a determination to be a good steward. The future of “YOU” depends on it.
This is the future of Advice. This is planning done right!