But Naboth said to Ahab,
“The LORD forbid that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to you!”
(1 Kings 21:3, NKJV).

Ahab was an evil king—and a greedy one. He had plenty of land and vineyards, but one day he decided he wanted the vineyard that belonged to a neighbor named Naboth. In fairness, he didn’t just go in and take the vineyard; he offered Naboth a trade for another vineyard or money for its outright purchase. Naboth, a much more honorable man than Ahab and one who honored his familial inheritance, refused. As a result, the king returned to the palace, sullen and pouting. When his also evil wife, Jezebel, asked him why he was in such a sour mood, he told her about Naboth’s refusal concerning his family’s vineyard.
Jezebel told him not to worry about it, and then she immediately set out to appropriate the vineyard, doing whatever was necessary to make that happen—in this case, the murder of poor Naboth. The result was that Ahab got what he wanted, but greatly displeased God in the process. It wasn’t long before both Ahab and Jezebel paid a divine price for their evil deed.
Now I don’t think most of us will ever be faced with someone in authority coming and asking us to sell our inheritance, but similar instances can crop up in our lives at any time, as believers in some countries know only too well. Many of them now sit in prison cells or have even been murdered, simply because they refused to “sell out” their godly inheritance when asked by a godless government or other organization to do so.

“Deny your faith and save your life.”
“Deny your faith and save your loved one’s life.” (A bit harder, isn’t it?)

But selling out doesn’t always mean a life-and-death choice.

“Deny your faith and get that promotion.”
“Deny your faith and be accepted by your peers.”
“Deny your faith and experience an easier life.”

Now is the time to make the decision that we will not “sell out” our godly inheritance, the inheritance bestowed upon us by our heavenly Father through the costly purchase price of His Son’s life. We dare not wait until King Ahab or Queen Jezebel is already knocking on our door, hoping to make us an offer we can’t refuse. We must choose now—today—to stand strong like Naboth, even unto death if necessary, for nothing is worth giving up or dishonoring “the inheritance of our Father.”