Come for a ride with me. We hop into my car, take a few rights and lefts, drive down the road a few miles and finally pass through a gate. We fall in line behind some pick up trucks, do a few switch backs and finally reach the top. One of the guys in a pick up truck gets out, reaches into the bed of his pick up truck and pulls out a flat screen TV. He walks to the edge of a precipice and throws it over. Curious, you get out and stand next to him looking down at the bottom. You see a huge pile of junk and you realize you are standing in a landfill, a junk yard.
Everything that we currently own will one day end up in that pile of junk. The things we save for, fight for, argue about and go into debt for will all end up in that pile of junk. All our cars, boats, hot tubs, clothes, stereos, mac books, ipods and yes, even our iphones.
Our legacy can’t be about stuff…possessions. It all ends up in the junk pile. Our lives in Christ must add up to more. What kind of legacy will you leave behind? Often when we think of legacy we think of money. Here are some quotes from a few wealthy people of the past:
“The care of $200 million is enough to kill anyone. There is no pleasure in it.” W.H.Vanderbilt
“I have made millions, but they have brought me no happiness.” John D. Rockefeller
“Millionaires seldom smile.” Andrew Carnegie
“I was happier when doing a mechanic’s job.” Henry Ford
Everything we own will end up in the dump and money and possessions won’t bring happiness. So the question is, “What are you living for?” You’ve got two choices; a dot or a line.
Picture a line stretched horizontally that extends forever. The line represents eternity. Now place a dot on that line. The dot represents your life. It’s very brief, but what you do in that small dot can impact the rest of eternity. How? Not by the accumulation of stuff, but by giving yourself away.
We used to have this saying before ball games, “Leave it all on the field!” Don’t walk off the field at the end of a game and say, “I could have given a little more effort. I could have hustled a little harder. When I walk off the playing field of life I want to be able to say as Paul did, “I have fought the good fight, I have run a good race.”
So I have to say now, “God use me up.” Every bit of energy, talent, ability that you created me with let it be for the lasting legacy of eternity. May my life be about investing in others.
Jason Palmisano
