Our Legacy
May 17, 2008
Whether they mean to or not, parents hugely affect what the lives of their children will be like.
I was listening to a defensive driving instructor (ok, I have a speeding problem), and he was occasionally throwing in parts of his own life. His father was a youth pastor. Sometimes he would throw big parties for the single adults, and they would serve alcohol. My instructor would be the bartender. The point of the story was that everyone would spend the night there and not drive while intoxicated. He later told stories of how much he currently enjoyed drinking at bars till 4am (but not driving). He also mentioned spending time with his boy, whom he saw a couple of days a week, since the instructor and his wife had divorced.
What I got out of it was that the instructor’s father (apparently a Christian), didn’t leave him a legacy of living for God, but left him a legacy of drinking, which may or may not have resulted in his broken home. Now the instructor can do the same for his boy.
How powerful are our examples to our children! How many times have you heard of divorce, alcoholism, abuse, etc. being perpetuated by the next generation. We need to break the curses we have inherited, and strive to leave a legacy of blessing to our children.
May 18, 2008 at 7:06 am
Amen!
May 21, 2008 at 12:42 am
Also remember, your child may not recognize the “good” legacy until they are over 30…but don’t give up, keep a steady pace of sowing truth.
May 24, 2008 at 3:32 am
The funny thing about legacies is that one decision can establish life prosperity and wealth but it can also cause a downward spiral. its always important to keep letting life show us a bigger vision of Jesus. then the legacy we leave will be a generation of of people with great integrity with power and warriors who will establish Gods kingdom here on earth
May 30, 2008 at 11:23 pm
Very true, Mark. Some call it a generational curse, I see it as a cycle and as Dennis has pointed out, it spirals down, or up, depending on the direction of momentum. Most folks are who they are because of their parent’s example, but a few are who they are in spite of their parents, and this can go either way also. In the final analysis, we all have a choice which direction our legacy will run. I’m very glad my ancestors have laid a groundwork for me to emulate, drawing closer to the Almighty.