Compound Interest & Ecclesiastes

The Moral of this Story: There is a time for all things, so choose what pleases your heart and your God’s. Be one of the “World’s Greatest Role Models” as you parent the next first generation.  Teach your children well about compound interest so that they can enjoy life through the benefits of cash employed 24/7.

Do you know that Pete Seeger still collects a royalty from writing the song “Turn! Turn! Turn! (to Everything There is a Season)” for The Byrds in the sixties? All but six words are from Ecclesiastes 3. Consider the benefits of compound interest on this song’ writing whose subject is “everything is meaningless”! A recent wedding and an Easter service were the catalysts for re-reading Ecclesiastes. Here are notes on the story line:

The Bible’s Old Testament represents a compendium about long-term investment in people and goods to produce a return on investment. Consider the following points:

  1. Everything is Meaningless
    1. What does a man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun?
    2. What has been will be again. What has been will be done again There is nothing new under the sun.
    3. Is there anything of which one can say, “Look! This is something new”? There is no remembrance of men of old (Benjamin Graham’s Intelligent Investor), and even those who are yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow.
    4. For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.
  2. Pleasures Are Meaningless
    1. “Laughter,” I said “is foolish. And what does pleasure accomplish?”
    2. “I undertook great projects: Built houses for myself; Planted vineyards; Created gardens and parks and planted all sorts of trees; Engineered reservoirs and water systems to water crops and trees; Resources were acquired that delight the heart of man; Nothing was denied to delight the heart
    3. All that was sought was like chasing the wind (or like a dog chasing its tail); nothing was gained under the sun.
  3. Wisdom & Folly and Toil Are Meaningless
  4. A Time for Everything – Seeger’s Song
    1. All labor and achievement spring from man’s envy of his neighbor.
    2. Sole focus on building wealth as a measure of achievement and advancement leaves one friendless and without brothers.
    3. Sorrow is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart.
    4. When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other.  Therefore, man cannot discover anything about his future.
    5. The end of days is the conclusion for us all; and each next first generation remembers only the love and friendship of the preceding.
  5. To show each generation the fruit of time, teach them about the power of compounding and God’s Grace.  If those lessons are well taught, the next first generation will benefit of the slavish nature that employed money has: tireless work 24/7 each season of the year.

 The Moral of the Story: there is a time for all things, so choose what pleases your heart and your God. Be one of the World’s Greatest Role Models as you parent the next first generation.  For more information about Family Succession Planning and The Next First Generation, visit us at FUTR Family Management LLC.

Next week the discussion topic will be: The Responsibilities of Leadership and the power of 3 beliefs everyone wants.

 
 

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