One insurance company writes, “Leaving a legacy means giving something that will be valued and treasured by those who survive after your death.” On reaching a noteworthy work anniversary, I had a coworker get a distant look in his eye and remark that he was going to change his attitude to focus on his “legacy.” In the insurance company’s case, the focus is exclusively financial. In my coworker’s mind the perspective was a bit more introspective. He was essentially asking the question “How do I want to be remembered?” The center of this viewpoint is the one being remembered.
How should the Christian approach the subject of leaving a legacy? Traditional logic says that they don’t happen by accident. To secure a legacy one must systematically commit to a plan. But what if I told you that it requires no plan at all? The question is not if you will leave a legacy, but what legacy will you leave? Consider what took place with the people of Israel.
“But you shall fear the LORD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt with great power and with an outstretched arm. You shall bow yourselves to him, and to him you shall sacrifice. And the statutes and the rules and the law and the commandment that he wrote for you, you shall always be careful to do. You shall not fear other gods, and you shall not forget the covenant that I have made with you. You shall not fear other gods, but you shall fear the LORD your God, and he will deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies.” (2 Kgs. 17:36–39)
The people were given explicit instruction about how and to whom worship should be conducted. God told them not to forget the great acts that He performed on their behalf. The only appropriate response to God’s care for them was to be careful to keep “the statutes and the rules and the law and the commandment that He wrote for [them].” God was to be the exclusive object of their devotion. He assured them that if they kept this instruction He would continue to care for and protect them. Unfortunately, the account continues for two more verses.
However, they would not listen, but they did according to their former manner. So these nations feared the LORD and also served their carved images. Their children did likewise, and their children’s children—as their fathers did, so they do to this day. (2 Kgs. 17:40–41)
The impact of their sin carried on for at least two additional generations. Sin, even the ones committed behind closed doors or under the cover of darkness, don’t stay there. While unintentional, they are patterns of behavior that are passed on to others in your world. What habits do you want to be carried on by those that come after you? How do you want them to deal with the difficulties and challenges that life is guaranteed to throw at them? Do you want them to emulate your behavior?
King Hezekiah, for one, did not care that those after him would pay the penalty for his sin. After Isaiah told him that his house would be taken from his children and that the nation over which he ruled would be taken into captivity, he responded with callous indifference. After being told that his own sons would be made eunuchs to serve in another king’s palace he said, “The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “There will be peace and security in my days” (Is. 39:8).
You are in the same position as Old Testament Israel. God has saved you from the Enemy and has given you explicit instruction to keep the rules, laws and commandment that He wrote to you. God is to be the exclusive object of your devotion. Your day-to-day decisions about how to handle life’s conflicts will have an impact on those around you and even on those that follow them. Don’t be a Hezekiah. Make a habit of looking beyond the current moment. Look beyond your current situation and even beyond your life.
Tomorrow you are going to be challenged. It is likely that you will be discouraged or outright disappointed. Think (and pray) today about how you plan to handle that hardship. Consider the legacy you are likely to leave when you are faced with it.
Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in his commandments! His offspring will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever (Ps. 112:1–3).