A critical element in all of this is that were not meant to die.
When God first placed us in Eden, we were supposed to be eternal. Death wasn’t a part of the original picture; it’s part of the Curse of the Fall. It’s as if to say the wiring of our hearts and minds is fundamentally designed for eternity. The current sensitivity to space and time is part of the Curse.
The biblical sense of time is focused on ripeness. Eternity is not a static state. Thus, we should note the passing of time based on the turning of the seasons, as time itself is not part of the Curse. Creation had time before the Fall; we are supposed to be eternal. We should endeavor to become patient as part of redemption. The brain should be trained to operate on the eternal frame of reference — the heart is already there.
It is part of the heart-led way to take the long term perspective. It’s not that we somehow disregard our mortality after the Fall, but that we don’t give it that much weight. We look for an eternal existence with or without this world, and this fallen condition is not our treasury. Everything in this world is merely a tool for eternal purposes.
Once we get a sense of multi-generational purpose, it becomes easier for our minds to grasp what your heart demands in terms of how we go about life. Our existence here and now is not such a precious thing, nor should it be. What really matters is the mission to which we are called, and that mission always calculates far longer than the human lifespan. You can stop thinking in terms of, “I better get all I can during this life.”
The observation that “you can’t take it with you” should result in thinking who is going to get it after you. Always put such things in the context of what can be passed down based on your best estimate of where things are headed. It’s not a precious legacy you are saving, but tools for tomorrow. God is still in control and things could change, but your mission is to be faithful in the context you live now.
In general, piling up money is pointless. Think about the economic trends in your world; most of the time the tools of living are far more important than money. The best investment is in personal experience, because that’s pretty hard to steal away from someone. Build systems that incubate a broad awareness for you descendents. Invest in travel and education, but not necessarily in terms of mainstream definitions of it. Don’t lock in your children’s choices, but do attempt to convince them to embrace the heart-led way. In the end, there’s really little more you can do than that.
Teach your children to follow their own hearts. Invest your wealth in that, such as it may be.
But your best gift is refusing to indulge in borrowing in the first place. Credit perverts the divine order of things, and and it distorts the market. It invites capital to places it would not naturally go. Trust in God to provide without borrowing, and stop this crazy thinking that big ticket items like houses and cars are different. Learn to accept what you can afford or do without, because borrowing calls God a liar. Be patient and pay as you go.
Most loans not from individuals are risky, practically speaking, in the first place. Even worse when they are “backed” by the government. No one really knows the true price of things in that situation.