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Godly Planning Principles
Once again, thank you for your trust in allowing us the privilege of providing
input into your estate and gift planning process. And, we look forward to being
of further service to you.
Before you explore the goals and benefit of wise giving, we’d also like to encourage you to think and pray about the
following foundational principles with the sincere hope that they will help
guide your discussions with your planning professionals and become the basis
for Leaving Your Godly Legacy through a well-designed estate and gift plan.
Principle # 1: As Christians, the value of our planning
is found in the redemptive quality of our lifestyle, not in the quantity
of giving from our estate. A redemptive lifestyle is one that
- Acknowledges God’s ownership of all (Psalm 24:1).
- Realizes our role as responsible managers of a sacred trust over which
God holds us personally responsible (1 Corinthians 4:1-2).
- Points others to God’s redemptive act of love in sending His Son
for the forgiveness of their sins as His ultimate legacy gift to them with
the promise of living an abundant life (John 3:16; John 10:10).
- Why? So that they too can propagate a redemptive lifestyle as an act of
worshipful witness to a lost and dying world, take hold of the life that
is really life, and bring God glory (Psalm 86: 11-13; Rom.12: 1-2; 1 Tim.6:
17-19).
Principle #2: The challenge for all Christians in planning
is to provide for our loved ones
(1 Timothy 5:8), to do everything we can to reduce the likelihood of interpersonal
conflicts (Proverbs 11:29), and to pass on our redemptive lifestyles, our true
inheritance, along with the use of the property God entrusts to us to those
individuals and organizations that will continue to perpetuate a redemptive
lifestyle and propagate the gospel (Proverbs 13:22; Matthew 28: 19,20). Therefore,
- Planning must be a spiritual process before it becomes a mechanical
one (Luke 12:31).
- Honoring God is primary and foundational to the planning process (Proverbs
3: 9,10) .
- Tax savings and tax avoidance are excellent motivators/benefits to a good
manager (Matthew 22:21).
- A good manager must be found FAITHFUL, worthy of the Master’s "Well,
done” (Matthew 25:23).
Principle #3: The realization that the only value of any
asset is not in our supposed ownership of them but in our attitude toward them
and our ability to maximize the use of what God owns and has entrusted to us
to manage for His glory. See the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25.
Someone once said, "The most ridiculous goal in estate planning is to
store up that which we cannot use during our lifetime, only to transfer it
at death to those who may no longer have need of it in the future." Remember
the caution about building bigger barns (See Luke 12:18).
As you prayerfully proceed, remember that maximizing and then passing
along the use of God's resources, the time, talents, and treasures He has entrusted
to you, is the legacy that HE would have YOU accomplish through YOUR estate
distributions to your loved ones and the charities from whom you have spiritually
benefited.
We want to serve you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We do this with
a sincere desire to see you grow in your relationship to Him, honor Him with
the use of His resources, provide for your loved ones, and partner with In
Touch to fulfill His Great Commission.
In Touch Foundation
3836 DeKalb Technology Parkway
Atlanta,GA 30340
800-967-2200 | Fax: 770-936-6396
Foundation@InTouch.org
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