Legacy

Our lives are very short and, once they're over, very few of those remaining will remember anything about us, unless, of course, we were one of the few who were famous. And, soon after that, when those few contemporaries who did remember us are no more, everything that we were will be completely gone. Even so, most of us have a desire to leave a positive legacy. It just seems natural.

In reality, this is not what God wants. I'm sure He wants our lives to make a positive impact on society, but He doesn't want us to strive for that legacy. Instead, He wants us to concern ourselves with serving Him and the people around us without regard to our reputation. In other words, we should do good for the sake of doing good and not to further our legacy.

Jesus addressed this issue when He said, "Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." (Matthew 6:1-4, NIV1984)

I often think of this verse when I see a building named for the donor who provided money to build it, or when I see an attraction built with money raised by selling bricks inscribed with donors' names, etc... In the secular world this is very normal. But, when I see the same things at Christian institutions, it really puzzles me.

Generally, nothing we do is selfless. But, today, I challenge you to do something completely selfless. Take a five dollar bill (or more if you can afford it) and secretly slip it under the windshield wiper of someone who appears to be struggling, such as a single mom, etc... Or, put it in an envelope and place it in their mailbox, or whatever is appropriate for their situation. The challenge isn't to donate. It's to do something for someone with absolutely no benefit to yourself. If we did this more often, our world would be a better place.