Legacy.  It’s a word that holds value. But I’m afraid we’ve let the word take on meaning that doesn’t represent its true state.  Here are three legacy myths we need to overcome:

1. Legacy is for the rich. Historically when we think of legacy, we tend to think of it as the amount of money we’ll leave to heirs. Money is the easiest kind of legacy to leave but generally it is the least valuable. To the contrary, it’s the richness of values and virtue that make a legacy powerful.
2. Legacy is for the famous. Just because you are not in the history books doesn’t mean that you don’t have a legacy. Everyone will leave a legacy—whether good or bad. The Bible, in 2 Corinthians 5:10, says that each of us—whether in the history books or not—must appear before the judgment seat of Christ and have our works (our legacy) tested.
3. Legacy is cast in stone. There’s some who give up on the idea of legacy. They see a hopeless past or perhaps a hopeless future. But legacies can be remade. Consider Peter. At the crucial hour, Peter denied his friend three times. The utter shame could have driven to a point of no return. But in the same way he received grace, Peter went on to reshape his legacy as a a key leader of the church.

Indeed, we all will leave a legacy. The only question is what we’ll make of it.

Bill High

Bill is CEO & Founder of Vyne Legacy. He works with families to equip them with tools to build multigenerational legacies, and he teaches givers and financial advisers on transformational biblical generosity. He is the co-author with David Green of Giving It All Away and Getting It All Back Again: The Way of Living Generously.

Published August 31, 2018

Topics: Family Legacy

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