Sermon Illustrations: Inheritance

Imagine you had a rich uncle who died and left you $1 million. You think, "At last, I'm a millionaire, and I always will be. Nobody can take that away from me." But the minute you got that $1 million, it became subject to the Rule of 72. This is a principle economists use to calculate (among other things) the effects of inflation. You just divide 72 by the inflation rate and that tells you how many years till your money is worth half as much in buying power. So, if you've got $1 million, and the inflation rate is 6%, you divide 72 by 6 which is 12. That means that in 12 years time your $1 million will only be able to buy what $500,000 can today. That's inflation, and the effect of inflation is that the money you inherited is always devaluing. But your spiritual inheritance never does. 1 Pet 1:3-4