Have you heard the fable of the young man with little money in his pocket who passed a restaurant with this sign in its window: “Eat now. Your grandson can pay the bill later”? Not believing his good luck, the young man went inside and asked the manager if the sign was correct. “That’s right,’ the manager replied, ‘You can eat and drink all you want and your grandchildren will pay the bill later.’”
Naturally the young man ordered a huge meal, and enjoyed it immensely. When he was finished, however, the waiter brought him a substantial bill. “Wait a minute,” the young man protested, “there must be some mistake. I spoke to the manager and he assured me that my grandson would pay the bill for me.”
“That’s right, sir, but you don’t understand,” explained the waiter, “this is the bill for the dinner your grandfather ate here many years ago.”
That is just a joke, of course, but it is quite possible for one generation to leave a debt for the next. For example, politicians routinely multiply governmental giveaways to buy votes for their next election, in the process increasing our national debt at what everyone recognizes is an unsustainable rate, and leaving our grandchildren with a crushing burden. Greedy corporations plunder the resources of the earth and leave a toxic mess that will pollute the environment for generations to come. Immoral movie producers promote ungodly lifestyles without any regard for the influence it will have on impressionable young people.
Just between us, I call this generational shortsightedness the “Hezekiah Syndrome.” Why? Because one of the most chilling verses in the Bible is found in 2 Kings 20, where messengers from Babylon arrive at the palace of King Hezekiah of Judah. Hezekiah foolishly showed the foreigners all the treasures in his palace. This indiscretion angered the Lord, who sent the prophet Isaiah to Hezekiah to deliver the following judgment: “The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your fathers have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the Lord. And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood, that will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon” (Verses 17-18).
To learn that the next generation would endure such terrible suffering would have been awful enough, but for me the most disturbing part of the story comes in Hezekiah’s response in the next verse: “The word of the Lord you have spoken is good.” “Good”? The king has just been informed that his descendants will be carried off to Babylon, and Hezekiah’s response is “GOOD”?! What could he possibly be thinking?
We don’t have to speculate, because the next verse explains what Hezekiah was thinking: “Will there not be peace and security in MY lifetime?” What a selfish, calloused perspective! Hezekiah seems perfectly content to let the next generation suffer, so long as HE enjoyed comfort and safety.
One common example of the Hezekiah Syndrome is not political, but personal. Over the years I have heard numerous individuals explain their refusal to make a will, even when they realize their failure to do so might cause dissension and conflict among their heirs, by laughingly saying, “Let them fight – I won’t be around to hear it.” If you have not yet settled your estate, I urge you to do so as soon as possible for the sake of the next generation. It will be a blessing for your children and enable you to avoid the Hezekiah Syndrome.
Dan Williams