The life you lead is the legacy you leave.
Hide and seek was commonplace in our home growing up. The key to winning hide and seek is to have a hiding place that is inconceivable. As kids, in a house, the idea of a hiding place that is impossible to find is an impossibility. Eventually, with persistent looking you will be found. However, if the hiding is so inconceivable...no one could fit in there...you can hide from anyone.
For me, that was the hall closet. The hall linen closet. Yes, that one. The one that has shelves that are almost flush with the door. Almost. I was so thin growing up, I could turn my feet sideways and actually fit into the narrowest of spaces...the hall linen closet. I was undefeated in hide and seek. It's like Texas Hold'em for kids...everyone wants to see your cards. "Where were you?" And on the rare occasions I revealed my hiding place, even better! They were convinced I was lying to conceal the true hiding place!
In life, regardless of how hard you try to hide, you cannot shroud yourself from truth. The life you lead is the legacy you leave.
This morning my iPhone scrolled the following headline: "Sandusky son pleads guilty to child sexual abuse." Jeffrey Sandusky is the son Jerry Sandusky who was a former coach on the staff of famed head coach Joe Paterno's Penn State Nittany Lions. Jerry Sandusky, the father, was sentenced to prison in 2012 for multiple counts of sexual abuse. Jerry Sandusky is a pedophile and serial rapist. The life you lead is the legacy you leave.
Leadership isn't just a concept for the workplace. Leadership is vital for the home. Does this mean that every child is helpless in rejecting a legacy inherited from a parent whose depraved life has now condemned their children? No. There is always hope. The principle from which we cannot hide is that the life we lead is the legacy we leave. That is unavoidable. This truth is immutable. But for every tragic story like Jeffrey Sandusky, there are countless stories that inspire hope from children who rejected a depraved legacy and lead lives that will leave a legacy for their children worth celebrating.
The question you must ask yourself is this. What will be my legacy because of the life I lead? Leadership in the home never says, "I hope my kids find a better life in spite of my example." Leadership in the home must always aspire to lead a life that will leave a legacy that not only inspires our children to greatness but also for generations to come.
Hebrews 10:24 should be the cornerstone of every parent's legacy philosophy. "And let us consider how we may spur (provoke) one another on toward love and good deeds."
The life you lead is the legacy you leave. May our children find greatness in their futures not in spite of us but because of us...because we had the courage to see beyond our own selfish and depraved desires and found a love for legacy.
Pastor Fred