Taiwan Church News
3188 Edition
April 1-7, 2013
Editorial

Translated by Lydia Ma

Qingming Festival is traditionally an occasion for families to gather together and venerate their ancestors. However, one story making headlines in Taiwan recently gives us much thought as we mark this holiday. This story involves a former presidential advisor and cabinet minister surnamed Li who died 2 years ago and whose 4 surviving children have been fighting over their share of the his inheritance.

Throughout history, instances of family members taking one another to court for the sake of obtaining their share of the family inheritance are not uncommon and this has not changed in the 21st century. Hence, I don’t find it surprising that a wise man from Old Testament times observed that, “Better to have little, with fear for the Lord, than to have great treasure and inner turmoil. A bowl of vegetables with someone you love is better than steak with someone you hate.” (Proverbs 15:16-17). This same man also remarked that, “Better a dry crust eaten in peace than a house filled with feasting—and conflict.” (Proverbs 17:1).

A family that can only afford “vegetables” and “dry crust” may find that it is easier for its members to live in peace with one another because this family doesn’t have much to fight over in the first place. In contrast, a family that can afford lots of “steaks” and “feasts” will discover that its members are prone to compete over things and treat one another with animosity. If you could choose, my guess is that you would rather have “vegetables” and “dry crust” instead of “steaks” and “feasts”.

Though there are Chinese adages that remind us that “blood is thicker than water” and tell us about the importance of flesh and blood siblings, there are also many instances of siblings fighting one another for their own selfish interests. The end result of such fights is inevitably broken relationships. It is a shame and a sin for siblings to turn on one another for the sake of inheritance and money.

There is a Taiwanese adage that says that whenever a person has been placed flat (died), whatever he owns is somebody else’s property. This adage is often used to remind people to get along with one another – especially siblings. In my opinion, whenever a family fights over an inheritance, the problem doesn’t lie with the inheritance itself. Rather, the key issue is whether family members love one another and revere God. In other words, only those who revere God and love others are able to resist fighting to death over worldly possessions and humbly share it or give it up. These people are also the ones who will receive more blessings from God.