From Memory to Legacy
By Dean Collins
How many times have you tried to remember someone’s name or a detail of some experience and had to wait for your brain to search all the files in your head before it finally kicked out the information you couldn’t recall quickly? Busy people, stressed people, and older people often have these challenges with memory.
Solomon said something about memory in Proverbs 10:7, “The memory of the righteous is a blessing.” But don’t get your hopes up that living a good life will give you better memory. Reading the rest of the verse helps us understand what the wise king said: “The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.” Our character and behavior toward others matter. Solomon is talking about how and how long others will remember us. This is a passage about our legacy.
Sadly, I think many people think of legacy primarily in financial terms. How much money can I leave for my children and grandchildren? Or how much can I leave my church or a nonprofit organization I believe in? These are certainly things to consider as you make financial plans, but I am confident that Solomon was not thinking about financial planning in this verse.
Who are some of the people you remember fondly and talk about often? Are they people of character or liars and thieves? Both groups will be remembered, but for how long and how often is what Solomon is challenging us to consider. Here are a few names that you might remember and who will be talked about in future generations because of their righteousness. And then here are a few names who clearly fall in the rotten category.
Mother Teresa Adolf Hitler
Billy Graham Jeffery Epstein
Desmond Tutu Jack the Ripper
The names on the left may well represent what Paul talked about in 2 Corinthians 2, concerning the “aroma of Christ,” and the ones on the right leave us with the scents of rot and death.
Solomon went on to say that those who walk in integrity and righteousness will never be removed, but the wicked will not dwell in the land. It is truly amazing to consider how the Holy Spirit inspired Solomon to describe what the Bible explains in other passages concerning the restoration of the earth. Passages in Isaiah, Revelation, and even the Lord’s Prayer all suggest that all creation is being renewed and restored. We pray that God’s Kingdom will come on earth as it is in heaven. Knowing this, we then understand that what Solomon said is true. The righteous will remain on earth, but that the wicked will not dwell in the land. The wicked may have their day, but the devastation they bring about will result in eternal consequences while righteousness receives eternal reward.
So maybe we should spend more time focused on how our lives leave a legacy of grace, mercy, love, and righteousness for our children and grandchildren to remember than we do on how much money we can leave behind for their pleasure. There is nothing wrong with financial blessings, but our righteousness will be remembered far longer than the money we leave behind.
Father, thank you for the promises of scripture. Transform our hearts and minds that we might live lives that reflect your righteousness as we not only pray but participate in how your kingdom is to come on earth as it is in heaven. Give us the courage and the focus to share your life with our children and grandchildren so that they may have an eternal inheritance and an example of how to live your life to the fullest. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Your Time with God’s Word
Proverbs 10:7-9, 30; 2 Corinthians 2:15-16 ESV
Photo by Laura Fuhrman on Unsplash
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