Legacy is more than money. Let’s look at what this means in this excerpt from our upcoming book, “A Legacy Life Devotional.”

Legacy Is More Than Money

“A good person leaves an inheritance for their children’s children.”
Proverbs 13:22

Legacy is more than money.

I’ve seen more than one father leave his children and grandchildren a financial inheritance and totally regret it. One of them told me his children weren’t productive, and even worse his grandchildren had never really obtained jobs. Some had even chosen paths of excess and addiction. It was a sad story.

On the other hand, I think of the man who attended one of our CEO gatherings. Most of his life had been spent in ministry. He’d traveled quite a lot but always made the point to be at home for long seasons. He invested directly in his children with storytelling and biblical teaching. Each of his six children still follow Jesus today. Even better, each of them found a mate and have raised an army of grandchildren  who exhibit the same faith.

Who has the greater legacy? The one with the money or the one with the children who follow Jesus?

Of course, the Scriptures reflect a similar pattern.

When we think about the greatest legacy in the world, we must think of Jesus Christ. He never traveled far from home. He never traveled internationally. Jesus never appeared on a big stage. There was no big social media following. He didn’t build a big business. He didn’t accumulate any financial wealth. Jesus never married. He never had children. He was wrongly accused, wrongly convicted, and died a gruesome death.

Yet his legacy stands alone. Human history is marked by His death and resurrection. His earthly possessions were literally few in number. I’m afraid all too often that we tend to think of legacy as the gift we’ll leave our children in our will or trust. Legacy is so much bigger and broader.

When the Scriptures say that a good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children, we must consider that the first inheritance a person leaves is a good name. A name of integrity and trust. A reputation of honor and truth. But the second inheritance is the biggest—it is the inheritance of values and virtues. Teach your kids the value of hard work, of keeping your word, of loving your neighbor, of digging deep into Scripture, of serving others.

With these two—a good name and values and virtue—is a simple truth. If we focus on a good and godly inheritance, we impact generations of lives because they’ll keep it going. And they’ll do this whether they receive a financial inheritance or not.

O Lord, help me to focus on leaving a good inheritance to my children—an inheritance of a good name and values and virtues. Help me to impact the generations of people who will receive and multiply this kind of inheritance. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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If you enjoyed this excerpt, keep reading about how you can help launch “The Legacy Life” this fall.

The Legacy Life

You are the hero of your family’s legacy story, and you need a guide to help you write that story.

Now it’s here in two formats:

The Legacy Life and The Legacy Life Devotional are available for preorder now!

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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 6, 2025

Topics: Family Legacy