View source for You Can't Take It With You LOI 1972-7&8

"You Can't Take It With You" by Phil Lindner, then of [[Coldwater Bible Chapel, MI|Coldwater Bible Chapel]] in [[Michigan]]:

=Intro=
"Do not toil or acquire wealth; be wise enough to desist. When your eyes light upon it, it is gone; for suddenly it takes to itself wings, flying like an eagle toward heaven." (Prov. 23:4-5)
 
You work hard to earn your money.  Most people do.  And after you've worked hard to earn it, you still live to contend  with the ravages of inflation, market decline, and other wallet-flattening obstacles.  Even if you are successful in  business and accumulate a large estate, the fact remains, "you can't take it with you." Part of your estate can be passed on, of course that part that remains after funeral  expenses, probate costs,  executors'  and lawyers'  fees,  and inheritance taxes). 

But as Solomon lamented: "I hated all my toil in which I had toiled under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me; and who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool?  Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom..." (Eccl. 2:18-19)

Even Solomon, in all his wisdom couldn't be certain the property he left would be used wisely.  You can exercise control and authority over the things God has given you during your life on earth, but eventually control will pass on to others and the time of your personal stewardship will terminate. It will not be your decision whether or not you will give  things up, but you may decide when and to whom you will pass them.

=An Eye To The Future=
Jesus told a curious story in Luke 16 about making good use of money while we can. In the parable of the unjust steward, a crooked manager learned that he was to be discharged from the management of his master's assets. So he quickly put those assets to use cultivating personal friends for himself.

Jesus commented, "The children of this world are in their own generation wiser than the children of light." (Luke 16:8) We who are sons of light know very well that the riches of this world will soon slip away from us, yet we foolishly cling to them. What is the proper use of money? Jesus applied the parable by advising: "Use your worldly wealth to win friends for yourselves, so that when money is a thing of the past you may be received into an eternal home." (Luke 16:9)

Let us look at what Christ did and what missionaries and other soul winners do to win friends. Christ and his followers have always been known for feeding the hungry, healing the sick, providing for  those  wo  lacked  the  necessities  of  life,  and most  of  all,  freely  telling  of  God's  great  gift  of 
spiritual  life.  Now Christ could do these things supernaturally, but  for  the  modern  missionary  the  healing,  feeding,  teaching,  and  preaching  all  cost  money.  Yet missionaries   continually   report   that   expensive 
dispensaries,   orphanages,   liospitals,   schools   and relief  programs  both  minister  to  the  needy  and 
open their hearts to the love of Christ.

By supporting these good and charitable works, do   we   not   ``win   friends"   for  ourselves  and  for Christ?  Perhaps  it   is  these  friends  and  converts who  will  welcome  us  into  our  eternal  home.  Perhaps  they  will  say,  "Thank  you  for  your  simple act  of  kindness;  it  brought  me  to  the lover of my soul.

=Love in a Casserole=
Can we win friends for Christ in the homeland
also, by spending some of our money? How about
inviting neighbors over for coffee or sending a casserole to a neighbor when she is sick? How much
better they will listen to the message of Christ
after we've demonstrated tlie love of Christ.
Or what about newcomers at Sunday School
picnics, fellowship dinners and youth activities?
Are we glad to see them or do we grump about how
much they eat? Jesus noted that some people
followed him only because they ate the loaves and
were filled.5 Yet he challenged his frugal disciples
by saying, "Give ye them to eat."6
Since, in the long run, we cannot keep our
money anyway, why not spend it where we know it
will do the most good? Let's win a few friends for
Christ, even if it costs us time or money or a roast
beef dinner.
It is wise to trade temporary affluence for eternal treasure. As Jim Elliot said:
He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep
to gain what he cannot lose.

=About the Author=
Philip  Lindner  directs  the  young  adult  retreat 
at  Bair  Lake  Bible  Camp  and  teaches  the  young 
adult class at Coldwater Bible Chapel  (Michigan) . 
A  former  newspaper reporter, he  is now  President
of a wholesale  firm.  He  is  married  and the  father 
of  two children.

=Source=
* [[Letters of Interest]] 1972-7&8