2 Chronicles 21:3
“And their father gave them great gifts of silver, and of gold, and of precious things, with fenced cities in Judah: but the kingdom gave he to Jehoram; because he was the firstborn.”
The order of succession is often the most followed order when it comes to an inheritance or in choosing a succeeding leader. Many parents leave the most important part of their inheritance to the oldest child because they are simply the oldest. Many churches have chosen someone to pastor because their father pastored that church and it just seemed natural for their son to take the pastoral position after the father stepped down or went to Heaven. They pass the “inheritance” on to the child just because they are the one who is in order to take that position.
Jehoshaphat made this tragic mistake. It says in the verse above that Jehoram was given the kingdom “because he was the firstborn.” What does being the firstborn have to do with God’s will? When you read the following verses, you will see that Jehoram had no business being king. When he felt he was established, he went and killed all of his brethren because he was afraid that one of them might try to take his position. Jehoram was not spiritual enough to be the king. If Jehoshaphat had been more observant in his children’s spirituality, he would have understood that Jehoram had no business taking the throne. In this story there are two very valuable lessons we need to learn concerning succession.
First, your children shouldn’t get part of your inheritance just because they are your child. Many parents make the tragic mistake of leaving an inheritance to a child just because they believe they are “supposed to.” You must realize that whatever God has given to you is still His even after you go to Heaven. You have a responsibility to be sure that what God has given to you is properly cared for after your death. If a child is not living for the LORD and would use what God has given you for ungodly purposes, then you should not leave them an inheritance. If they want an inheritance, then they need to live their life in a godly manner. Only if they have proven to have a heart for God should you leave them an inheritance. Remember, what you have is God’s, and He will hold you accountable for how you use it.
Second, a person should not be placed into a leadership role just because their parent is or was the pastor of a church. I have seen many churches give the pulpit to a son after the father retired or went to Heaven to the detriment of the church. Let me make this clear, the pastoral position is not a human inheritance. The church DOES NOT belong to a man; the church is God’s. Whoever fills the vacant pastoral position should be someone who is spiritual and someone whom God wants. Instead of looking at human succession to fill a pastoral position, you would be wise to get alone with God and find out who He would want to fill that position. If God wants one of the children of the pastor who has gone to Heaven or retired to fill that position, then so be it; however, they should not be given that position just because they are their child. If they are given the position, it should be because it is God’s will.
Always remember that whatever we do should be according to God’s will. Human succession has nothing to do with God’s will. If someone has proven not to be sold out to God’s methods, principles and commands, then don’t leave them the inheritance.