“The wise shall inherit glory, but shame shall be the legacy of fools.”

—Proverbs 3:35

Parents, today you are leaving a legacy by your life, words, and actions. This will affect your children, your grandchildren, your great grandchildren, and beyond.

C. H. Spurgeon said, “A good character is the best tombstone. Those who loved you, and were helped by you, will remember you. So carve your name on hearts and not on marble.”

We need to think about the legacy we are leaving. Because when your last day on earth comes, you will not be remembered for what you may be making the focus of your life today.

When someone passes, foremost in their eulogy is who they are survived by. We talk about them as a spouse, a parent, a son or daughter, as a person who did good for others.

We don’t celebrate the wealth they acquired or how attractive they were, because when they are gone, we collectively realize those things don’t matter.

Socrates said, “Could I climb to the highest place in Athens, I would lift my voice and proclaim: Fellow citizens, why do you turn and scrape every stone to gather wealth and take so little care of your children to whom one day you must relinquish it all?”

Our goal as parents is to lead our children to Christ and get them to heaven.

We are all leaving a legacy. The question is, is it a good or a bad one?