The years had been good to Ben. He couldn’t sit still and do nothing, so over the decades he put together a business venture here and there, sometimes using his cash, sometimes using policy loans from his whole life insurance policies. Ever since his accident he had really depended on the Lord for wisdom and he had been blessed in the wealth that he was stewarding.
He wasn’t mega-wealthy by any standard, but at the same time, his family had far more money than most people had. And Ben was really proud of the sons that he and Kim had raised. They were special boys (men now actually!) who had married incredible young women and had five kids total so far. Ben was hoping for even more.
Ben really did feel like he had done a good job raising his kids, but at the same time he wondered how things would progress after he and Kim were gone. His kids had done well in school and seemed to have good jobs, but did they really know how to steward their wealth the way he and Kim had been blessed to learn?
Maybe he worried too much, but he sometimes wondered if the values that he and Kim knew to be so important were being passed down to his grandkids. The world seemed so hectic these days and he knew how easy it was to just go through the motions in life and not take time to discuss what’s truly important. He didn’t even know if he would ever meet his great-grandkids. What would they be like? He realized that in some ways he was getting old and sentimental, but he also knew that these were important questions and sometimes it takes the wisdom of long lived experience to realize just how important they were.
Ben and Kim met with their advisor, who had helped navigate them through so many difficult situations in the past and decided to set up a Family Bank. This wouldn’t be an actual bank, but instead a system that would be created to pass on the wisdom, values, experience, and blessings from one member of the family to all the others. He and Kim had already planned to leave certain amounts of money to some worldwide missionary organizations and some wonderful local ministries which could really use it, but they also knew that they would be handing millions of dollars to their kids some day and that if they didn’t do this in a wise way, it could have a devastating impact on them instead of being a blessing.
So they began formulating the rules of their bank, and found that it was a lot of fun! They began writing down all the wisdom about life, God and family that they had collected over the years. Well at least Kim wrote it down, Ben preferred to video tape his thoughts! They also formulated a system where any member of the family could come and propose a business or ministry idea to the family showing the impact that they expected to have and the potential profit they expected from this endeavor. This way, each family member could then help guide the idea by sharing the experiences they had had in the past and the wisdom and contacts they could bring to the table. Also, every year, each member of the family would present a report on everything that had been happening within their branch of the family- the joys and the sorrows that Ben knew were all an important part of life. Each family member would have to come to this annual gathering to be able to participate in the family bank.
The beauty of it was that it would be an incredible vacation for each one of them where they could renew their bonds of love while at the same time helping each one of them grow. Ben was particularly excited to make sure it was a regular part of their meetings for each one to share what the Lord was teaching them and how their walk with the Lord was growing stronger. Ben knew that God had designed Man to be his sons and that he taught most spiritual lessons through the context of family. What better way to ensure that his family stayed unified in their love for each other and in Christ!
He couldn’t wait to get started with these meetings. He already could tell just from knowing his sons that Jack would have some amazing business ideas to implement and that Rick would have some equally inventive ministry ideas. Both could really be accelerated by having some financial capital to propel them forward and the wisdom of the whole family of counselors to keep them God-centered. They were young and had passionate energy, and between he and Kim, he knew they could supply wisdom so that someday his kids would be the wise ones helping guide the next generation. This was going to be fun!
This is Part 11 in the story of Ben’s life using Whole Life Insurance in a variety of ways. You might want to read the introduction to this series which will link to each post in the series explaining how whole life works as well as linking to each post in this series on Ben’s story.