What kind of heritage are you leaving your family? Have you thought about that? It’s not something that you do when you are old. It’s something you accomplish with the bulk of your life. How you live now affects the future generations of your family. Each of us were handed a heritage from our parents. Some of us received a good heritage while others received a broken, empty heritage.
Whatever heritage you were given, it is your responsibility to create one for your kids. You have to be aware of the seeds you are planting in their lives. There is a Greek proverb that says, “A society grows when old men plant trees whose shade they know they’ll never sit in.” What are you planting now that you know you’ll never reap the rewards of?
That’s a tough question. For many of us, we have grown up in a world where we live for the moment and not the future. We think, “I wasn’t given anything and I made it. Why would I do anything for someone else?” At work, we always talk about setting the customer up for success. Does the customer have everything they need to be successful once they leave? I’d ask, does your family have everything they need in order to be successful once they leave the nest?
It’s not just monetary things I’m talking about here. Yes, leaving your kids the gift of financial freedom is great, but have you taught them how to manage what you’ll be giving them? If you haven’t, what you’re leaving will be gone soon. What about a spiritual inheritance? Are you leaving your kids and future generation a heritage that will last for generations? What are you teaching them with your lifestyle now that will reap rewards later? Are you just taking them to church so that someone else can teach them “what’s right” or are you teaching them a godly example at home?
It is not the church’s responsibility to teach your children about God or what it means to be a Christian. It’s your responsibility. The church’s role is to reinforce what you are showing them and to provide a group of people who are like minded to help you along the way. If you take them to church and live contrary to the teachings of the church, your child’s faith probably will not last. Actions speak louder than words.
King David left his son Solomon a heritage. David knew that God would not allow him to build the temple. David didn’t just tell Solomon he wanted him to build the temple instead. He drew up the plans and bought all the supplies to build the temple. He knew the value of planting the seeds for something he would never get to enjoy. After he gave Solomon all of the supplies and plans, he then blessed him, prayed for him and charged him to do well.
In I Chronicles 28:8-10, David gave Solomon the things he needed to be successful spiritually which is more important than setting him up monetarily. He said, “Learn to know God…, worship and serve Him…., if you seek Him you will find Him…, take this seriously because God has chosen you…., be strong and do the work.” That is an amazing charge and heritage to leave your family. If you haven’t already done so, begin to do the work of leaving a good, godly heritage for your family. You may not get to sit in the shade of the trees of heritage you plant, but your future generations will be blessed and successful because you did the work now.
Devotions by Chris Hendrix 