Counterfeit Legacy

By Jeremiah Stingl

One of the passions of authentic manhood is to be “philanthropic in cause.” A godly man wants to leave a legacy in the lives of those his life touches.  As I was thinking about this, I remembered a Scripture that I had read from 2 Samuel 18.  It is one verse that speaks very powerfully about a man’s desire to leave a legacy.

“During his lifetime Absalom had taken a pillar and erected it in the King’s Valley as a monument to himself, for he thought, “I have no son to carry on the memory of my name.” He named the pillar after himself, and it is called Absalom’s Monument to this day.” – 2 Samuel 18:18 NIV

This is what is written about King David’s son, Absalom, just after his untimely death.  I noticed one major thing from this verse of Scripture: every man has the innate desire to leave a legacy behind so that they will be remembered when they are gone.  There is a  problem with the way that Absalom did this.  He left a counterfeit legacy.  A true legacy is deposited into the life of someone whom you have left behind.  It is pouring your life into another person in such a way that you impact them for the rest of their lives.  Absalom wanted to leave a mark, but he made it in the wrong way.  A counterfeit legacy is something that a person tries to do to be remembered, whereas a true legacy is left in the life of someone still here.

So, why would someone leave a counterfeit legacy?  Because it is easier.  It’s the shortcut.  It is hard to leave a mark on another person.  It takes time, lots of time.  And it takes sweat, tears, and blood…  It takes you depositing your life into another person.  Many people try to leave money behind to those they love and think it will be enough.  Money is never enough.  How many people have you seen that get a large inheritance that do something foolish with the money?  The Bible even says that this is meaningless.

Look at our Scripture again, why did Absalom build the monument?  It says, “for he thought, ‘I have no son to carry on the memory of my name.’” He thought about the legacy that he wasn’t leaving to any person and he needed to build something.  Let me get personal: In whom are you leaving a legacy?  Who are you intentionally pouring your life, character and values into so that their life is different? Please, don’t reach the end of your life like Absalom and have to build a monument because you are ashamed at the lack of legacy that you have left behind.  You don’t have to have children of your own, find someone who needs a mentor and help them succeed.  You will not be disappointed.

Jeremiah Sting | Team Pastor
The Church at Chapel Hill
Douglasville, GA 30135
www.churchatchapelhill.com
www.jeremiahstingl.com

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