3 Ways to Leave a Great Legacy

Right now I’m downtown writing this blog at a Starbucks. People are leaning over tables toward each other as they talk and sip their favorite specialty drinks. Others are sitting alone looking at their phones or laptops doing work or zoning out.

This scene speaks to a common picture in our culture as we connect, relax and spend way too much money on coffee.

But, in the day-to-day hustle, I wonder if we take time to think about what our legacy will be?

After all, that is what is left behind after we leave this world.

This is not morbid but rather wisdom. When we think about the legacy we want to leave, it will empower us to live with purpose and clarity.

“So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

Psalms‬ ‭90‬:‭12‬

Notice when we number our days it empowers us to have the wisdom to make our days count. Because we are leaders, it’s vital we understand this and live through this wisdom.

Too many people live with no focus, no meaning, and no sense of urgency. This is how we waste our years while never considering what our legacy will be.

But there’s a better way to live!

It’s a life that loves freely, dreams big, gives back, walks by faith, and gives its heart to Jesus daily. This is life!

It gives the fulfillment, direction, and significance that we all need. When we live this way our relationships have a purpose, our marriages are sacred, our kids are a blessing, our money is a tool, and our time is invested in something more than ourselves.

When we live this way, problems are opportunities for miracles and weaknesses become strengths. This is where we thrive in faith and move forward one step at a time.

It’s important to remember that legacy begins and ends with God. He’s the center of it!

Here’s a promise we can have when we live this way:

“13. Those who are planted in the house of the Lord Shall flourish in the courts of our God. 14. They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing,”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭92‬:‭13‬-‭14‬

Don’t we all want this? Yes!

Don’t we all want a meaningful legacy? Yes!

So, here are three ways to leave a great legacy.

1st – Let God enlarge your vision.

We’re tempted to live for ourselves and within ourselves. But this is limited and boring. God is big and when we let Him, He will enlarge our vision of what could be. He will expand us to see beyond ourselves and to live for something beyond us.

This is where we grow. This is where we are changed and this is where God is empowered to do more through us as a leader.

What’s your vision? Is it beyond you?

Let God expand you by enlarging your vision.

2nd – Choose to be bigger, not better.

Nothing hinders legacy like being petty. When we’re petty we shrink and wither. Being bigger means we choose to be the bigger person and rise above nonsense.
We forgive, we love, we let God heal our hearts and we don’t get petty.

This impacts our marriages, parenting, relationships, work, faith, and more. Trying to be better than others is a waste of time and being petty is ungodly and stifling to our legacy.

I encourage you today, to let go of getting even and being petty. Life is too short and now is the time to be bigger, not better.

3rd – Have a plan for generosity.

Being generous makes our world larger and larger. Being stingy makes our world smaller and smaller. In fact, selfish people don’t have a good legacy and maybe no legacy at all.

Conversely, generous people are celebrated and remembered because they made others feel valued, loved, and cared for through their giving. People never forget how we make them feel. Generosity is love in action this is where we touch a heart and change a life.

I encourage you as a leader, to have a plan with your money. Use it to bless God’s work, bless your family and give to something beyond yourself. So much of our legacy is connected to being generous because legacy is linked to what we give and not what we get!

What legacy are you leaving behind?

As I finish this blog I look around and see everyone laughing, working, and relaxing with their coffee and I wonder, are they thinking about what legacy they will leave?

Then I think, am I considering my legacy?

I encourage you to begin living out these three things. Count your days and make your days count. Leave a legacy that will impact generations and more importantly impact eternity.

God has great things for you and the best is yet to come,

PD