Can You Take it With You When You Die?

The saying that you can't take it with you is axiomatic. People agree that you never see a U-Hall trailer towed behind a hearse. But there is one guaranteed way of taking your wealth with you when you leave this world.

Jesus Christ told a parable about a dishonest manager of a rich man's money. A bad report had reached his boss so he told the employee to give an account of what he did.

While the boss waited for the accounting report, the dishonest manager contacted the rich man's debtors. One owed a hundred barrels of oil so the manager told that person to write "fifty" on the bill. Another debtor owed a hundred bushels of wheat. The manager told him to write "eighty" on his bill.

Why did they do this? In first century Israel, Jews weren't allowed to charge interest. They got around that by saying that debtors were to pay more back than they borrowed. The dishonest manager made friends with the debtors so they'd take him into their homes when his employment ended. They wouldn't dare refuse his request because they'd be shown to be dishonest. Neither would the boss retaliate because his honor was at stake.

Christ told this parable to point out that believers should invest their goods, money, and time in the Kingdom of Heaven so they would have many saved individuals to greet them there. Moths, rust, and thieves can't get at that treasure. Neither can our greedy governments tax that.

I once believed that the Lord should bless me with a lottery win so that I could give more to spread the gospel. My How I Was Razed book shows how the Lord led me out of such foolish thinking and into the truth. Contact me to learn more about this amazing story of God's providential guidance.