Have You Ever Seen a Hearse Towing a U-Haul?
My pastor recently posed this question, and it stuck with me. It’s a light-hearted reminder that we can’t take anything with us after we pass. As 1 Timothy 6:7 reminds us, “For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.”
Most people, even believers, spend their entire lives working to accumulate wealth. The end goal is to gain as much as possible. But there’s an important question we sometimes overlook: What is all that wealth for? The goal isn’t simply to amass and hold onto as much as possible. Good stewardship means having an actual plan for what God has entrusted to us, not just a bigger number to admire.
Die with Zero
In his book Die With Zero, Bill Perkins, a hedge fund manager, entrepreneur, and author, introduces the idea that, because we can’t take anything with us after death, we should plan to “die with zero.” His main point is that dying with a large amount of unspent money can reflect missed opportunities. He emphasizes that money, time, and health aren’t equally available throughout our lives. You may have plenty of money later in life, but not as much time or the physical ability to enjoy certain experiences. Some experiences are more meaningful, or even only possible, during certain seasons of life.
Perkins builds this idea into what he calls “time buckets”—stretches of roughly five to ten years when certain experiences are especially possible or especially meaningful. His point isn't complicated: your capacity to enjoy something changes as you move through life. So instead of asking, “Can I afford this?” he suggests a better question: “When is the best time in my life to have this experience?”
Perkins goes on to highlight four key principles regarding saving, spending, and transferring wealth:
Save enough for the future without endlessly accumulating.
Spend intentionally on meaningful experiences.
Give or transfer wealth earlier when it can have a greater impact.
Avoid putting off everything enjoyable until retirement.
Although Perkins doesn’t claim to be a faith-based author, several of his key points are grounded in biblical principles. Scripture repeatedly warns us against making wealth and earthly riches the goal of our lives. In Matthew 6:19-21, Jesus admonishes his followers against storing up treasures on earth. Paul cautions in 1 Timothy 6:9-10 that chasing wealth can lead us somewhere we didn't intend to go. And in Luke 12:13-21, Jesus tells the story of a man who built bigger barns to hold his abundance, only to die that same night, still rich, still empty-handed. The point was never accumulation. True wisdom is being “rich toward God.”
Plan for Memories
Dying with nothing doesn’t mean going on a major spending spree before you pass. The goal of every thriving steward is to manage everything faithfully while you’re alive. Retirement, inheritance, and generosity are all things we plan for. But that plan should also include the experiences and memories you actually want to create, for yourself and the people you love. I encourage you to make a plan with the resources God has entrusted to you, and to include experiences and memories you want to create. God wants us to enjoy life with the resources He has graciously provided. As Ecclesiastes 5:19 reminds us, “Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God.”
Faith and Finance Perspective
You will never see a U-Haul hitched to a hearse. We are not taking anything from this world into eternity. This world will vanish, but what we do with the time we have been given is vital to our deeper life journey. Let’s be intentional about stewarding our time and money wisely, but also about enjoying the life God intended for us. He uses treasured experiences not only to bless us, but also to lovingly form us into the people he created us to be, and to give us glimpses of the abundance we will experience in His Eternal Kingdom.
“Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way, they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.” —1 Timothy 6:17-19