Connecting Point: Lasting Legacy

Estate planning isn’t always on our mind but many lawyers suggest that one should prepare for the inevitable. Families certainly experience shock after the death of a loved one, additional stress occurs when estate planning is absent. Some families are torn apart as possessions are divided while other families suffer extended grief navigating the long nightmare of legal matters. Is all this the legacy we long for?

King Solomon casts light on his legacy, however, from a somewhat negative viewpoint. “So I hated life because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish? Yet they will have control over all the fruit of my toil into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless. So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun. For a person may labor with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and then they must leave all they own to another who has not toiled for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune. What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun? All their days their work is grief and pain; even at night, their minds do not rest. This too is meaningless,” (Ecclesiastes 2:17-23)

Reading through Ecclesiastes we can observe Solomon’s tiresome frustration, take notice of how he loathed most everything in his life. Was Solomon living life thinking beyond the grave? Was his legacy to be wrapped up with possessions and accomplishments rather than relationships? Solomon was indeed a sharp man and leader but apparently, in his quest for wisdom, he missed some important boxes.

The following are some legacy killers: One, hating life and your accomplishments so much that you don’t trust a family member to manage your estate. Two, putting far more value on material things than the relationships in your life. Three, approaching work as if it’s only a means to an end.

Evidently, Solomon wrestled with the idea of inheritance because in Proverbs 13:22 he wrote, “A good person leaves an inheritance for their children’s children, but a sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous.” Is it possible that in Ecclesiastes he was personally struggling with selfishness? Remember he was human as well. When we walk in Godly wisdom our thoughts and actions are better balanced. The relationships God grants us are by far more important than things. If we fall out of balance in this area foolishness grips our life. Work is an ability from God which helps us to discover our gifting and greater fulfillment of purpose. Don’t live your life bound by jealousy or self-centeredness; understand that God has greater purposes beyond our years.