The world has now minted its first trillionaire. Elon Musk, founder of many companies, saw his SpaceX shares enter the public market a few weeks ago. The stock offering was so successful that it pushed his net worth over $1,000,000,000,000. That is a lot. In fact, it is more than our minds can comprehend. It equals a million million (not that helpful, either). How about this: if you stacked up a million dollars in $100 bills, it would be around 40 inches tall. If you stacked up a trillion dollars in $100 bills, it would be 630 miles tall. Like I said—that is a lot.
We all have ideas about what the wealthy ought to do with their money, or better still, imagine what we would do if we were rich. But no matter how much we have, we all ought to think about what will happen to our money one day. As this generation of Baby Boomers ages and dies, they will pass down one hundred times more than Mr. Musk’s tally. Yes, more than $100 trillion will change generational hands in the coming decades. That is 63,000 miles of $100 bills—enough to wrap around the earth 2½ times. The question for us is, what will we share?
The answer to that question will have to do with values. We value kids and grandkids, as we should. We might value our universities and colleges. My guess is that we also value our congregations, the places that strengthen our faith and bless our world. While our amount of worth is smaller, it is still very powerful. It doesn’t take much to change a life, feed a soul, teach a kid, or set the broken on the path of life.
For those who lead churches: don’t be afraid to ask. People are often more willing to give than you are to seek. Maybe they have never considered including the church in their estate plans because they have never been asked. If you need help with anything from helpful pamphlets to a full-blown planned giving ministry, give our Foundation a call. We are here to support you in all areas of finance and stewardship.
Whether you have a hundred, a thousand, a million, or a trillion—may God guide your stewardship in all that you are and have.
We make house calls. Let us know If you want more ideas for stewardship and giving, whether pastor or lay person. Contact us here or call us toll free at 877-391-8811.
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Glenn Howell
Director of Development
Heartland Methodist Foundation