There was an interesting report in The Business Times on 7 October 2026, titled “70% of Asian families set to transfer wealth but only half see the next gen ready for family office”.

The report highlights an important issue facing wealthy families in Asia. While many families intend to transfer their wealth to the next generation, only about half believe their children are ready to manage that wealth responsibly.

This raises a question that every parent, especially those who have spent a lifetime building wealth, should seriously consider:

Are we spending so much time building wealth for our children that we have neglected to prepare our children to handle that wealth?

Many people spend their entire lives accumulating money, properties, businesses and investments for the next generation. They sacrifice their time, work long hours and postpone their own enjoyment, hoping to give their children a better future.

Yet, what happens when the wealth is finally transferred?

Some children may multiply what they inherit and use it wisely. Others may squander it on fast cars, luxury watches, extravagant houses, expensive holidays and endless entertainment. What took their parents decades to build could disappear within a few years.

The problem may not be the wealth itself. The problem may be that the next generation has inherited the money without inheriting the wisdom, discipline and values needed to manage it.

As Christians, we need to examine this issue through the lens of Biblical stewardship.

The world often measures a parent's success by how much wealth he or she can leave behind. The bigger the inheritance, the better the parent is perceived to have provided for the children.

But is that necessarily God's measure of success?

Proverbs 13:22 says:

“A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the sinner’s wealth is laid up for the righteous.” (ESV)

The Bible certainly recognises the value of providing for future generations. Leaving an inheritance is not wrong. Providing for our families is a responsibility we should take seriously.

However, we must not interpret this verse as a command to accumulate as much wealth as possible for our descendants, regardless of the consequences.

An inheritance can be a blessing, but it can also become a burden when the recipient is unprepared.

Consider a young person who suddenly inherits millions of dollars but has never learnt to work diligently, control spending, delay gratification or appreciate the value of money. What took the parents 40 years to accumulate may become a source of temptation rather than a blessing.

We should not simply ask, “How much wealth can I leave my children?” We should also ask, “What kind of people will my children become when they receive it?”

Perhaps the greater inheritance is not merely money, property or shares. It is a godly character, a sound understanding of money and a heart that recognises God as the true owner of all resources.

This is a difficult question, but one worth asking.

Some parents work relentlessly because they want to ensure that their children and grandchildren will never have to worry about money. They want to provide for several generations, build an enormous family fortune and protect their descendants from every possible financial difficulty.

There is nothing wrong with prudent planning. We should save, invest and make reasonable provisions for our families.

However, where do we draw the line between responsible stewardship and the desire to control the financial future of generations we may never meet?

First Timothy 6:17 reminds us not to put our hope in wealth, which is uncertain, but in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.

Our wealth is uncertain. Businesses can fail, investments can decline and fortunes can disappear. Even a substantial inheritance cannot guarantee that our descendants will live happy, meaningful or godly lives.

We can prepare our children, but we cannot control every outcome. We can leave them resources, but we cannot guarantee that they will use those resources wisely.

Ultimately, our trust must be in God, not in the size of our family fortune.

Are we accumulating wealth because God has entrusted us with resources to manage faithfully, or because we want to secure a future that we believe we must control ourselves?

There is a difference between planning wisely and believing that our money can guarantee the future.

If we spend 30 or 40 years accumulating wealth, should we not also spend time preparing our children to manage it?

Unfortunately, some families teach their children how to inherit wealth but not how to steward it.

They may teach them how to manage a property portfolio, oversee a family business, work with bankers and establish a family office. These are useful skills, but they are not enough.

Do our children understand that wealth belongs to God and that they are merely stewards of what He has entrusted to them?

Do they know how to distinguish between needs and wants? Can they exercise self-control when they have the financial ability to buy almost anything they desire?

Most importantly, do they understand that wealth comes with responsibilities beyond themselves?

Jesus tells the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14–30. The master entrusts different amounts to his servants and later returns to settle accounts with them. The servants are evaluated according to how they managed what had been entrusted to them.

The principle is clear: what we receive is not simply ours to consume. We are accountable for how we manage it.

Our children need to understand that inheritance is not merely a privilege to enjoy. It is a responsibility to discharge faithfully.

Parents should therefore teach financial discipline, encourage productive work, involve their children in appropriate financial decisions and demonstrate generosity through their own lives.

Most importantly, we must model these values ourselves. If our children see us spending extravagantly on ourselves but giving little to God's Kingdom or those in need, what lessons are we teaching them?

Our children will learn as much from our financial behaviour as from our financial instructions.

Let us imagine that we successfully pass down millions of dollars to our children.

They live in beautiful houses, drive luxury cars, travel first class, buy expensive watches and spend their weekends at exclusive clubs. They have more money than they could ever reasonably need.

But they have little concern for the poor, contribute nothing meaningful to society and show little interest in supporting God's Kingdom.

Have we succeeded?

From the world's perspective, perhaps we have. We have created a wealthy family.

But from a Biblical stewardship perspective, we need to ask a more searching question: What good is wealth if it only makes the next generation more comfortable but does not make them more faithful?

First Timothy 6:18–19 instructs those who are rich to do good, be rich in good works, be generous and ready to share, thereby storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future.

Notice that Paul does not condemn people simply because they are rich. Instead, he instructs them on how they should use their wealth.

Wealth gives us opportunities to do good. It can support missionaries, fund Christian ministries, help families struggling with debt, provide education for disadvantaged children, care for the elderly and meet the needs of vulnerable communities.

Imagine what could happen if the next generation inherited not only their parents' wealth but also their parents' burden for God's Kingdom and compassion for those in need.

Instead of merely preserving a family fortune, they could use it to bless thousands of lives.

That would be a far more meaningful legacy than a collection of expensive possessions.

As parents, we naturally want our children to have a better life than we had. We want them to be financially secure and protected from unnecessary hardship.

But we must be careful not to make financial security the highest goal of our parenting.

Proverbs 22:6 encourages parents to train up their children in the way they should go. While this verse is not a guarantee of a particular outcome, it reminds us of the importance of intentional instruction and guidance.

We should teach our children to work hard, live within their means, avoid unnecessary debt, invest wisely and plan for the future. At the same time, we should teach them contentment, generosity, humility and dependence on God.

We should also teach them to give, not merely after they have accumulated enough for themselves, but as a regular expression of their faith and stewardship.

After all, if our children learn to give only when they have more money than they need, will they ever feel that they have enough?

The world tells us to accumulate more so that we can consume more. Biblical stewardship challenges us to ask how much we truly need and how much of what God has entrusted to us can be used to serve others.

Perhaps the greatest legacy we can leave is a family that understands how to earn money without worshipping it, enjoy possessions without being enslaved by them, and accumulate resources without forgetting the God who provides them.

Dear friends, if you are working hard today to build wealth for your children and grandchildren, I encourage you to keep planning wisely. There is nothing inherently wrong with leaving an inheritance.

But do not spend all your time building the fortune and neglect the people who will inherit it.

Teach them how to manage money. Teach them to work diligently. Teach them to live within their means. Teach them to be content with what they have.

Above all, teach them that they are stewards, not owners, and that the purpose of wealth extends far beyond their own comfort and enjoyment.

Before asking how much wealth we should leave behind, perhaps we should ask ourselves these three questions:

Let us remember that our ultimate responsibility is not to make our children rich. It is to raise them to be faithful followers of Christ who know how to manage whatever God entrusts to them.

Our wealth will one day be passed on, spent or lost. But the values of faith, contentment, generosity and faithful stewardship can continue through generations.

Blessings,

David Poh

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