Don’t wait to bless your children

The following scenario repeats in our media

outlets — sharing the same sad story, but with different characters each time. Every few years, our newsfeeds are bombarded with the all-too-familiar report of another child of inherited wealth and privilege not prospering with their sudden inheritance. Many, after losing all within a short period of time, find themselves in severe and nearly irreparable financial debt.

Those of us without large trust funds shake our heads and say, “Wow, what a waste,” somehow believing we would do so much more if afforded the same opportunity. Because this situation frequently occurs, many have come to see inheritance of great wealth in a disparaging light.

Some of the superwealthy agree that leaving all of their wealth to their children is not necessarily a good idea. In fact, many of today’s notable billionaires are choosing to distribute their wealth in multifaceted strategies rather than leave it all to their children. One billionaire of considerable fame — Warren Buffett — wrote in a letter to the Gates Foundation, “I want to give my kids just enough so that they would feel that they could do anything, but not so much that they would feel like doing nothing.”

I would like to propose that there is a blessing one can give to their children that stretches beyond the benefits of financial inheritance. The Genesis account of Jacob blessing his 12 sons just prior to his death intrigues me, especially the blessing of Joseph (Chapter 49).

Filled with beautiful description, my mind’s ear can nearly hear the poetic, faith-filled blessing the aged Jacob delivered to his beloved son:

“Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall. With bitterness archers attacked him; they shot at him with hostility. But his bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed limber because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, because of your father’s God, who