Do you have a family heritage you live by? Do you plan to leave a heritage behind for your family? What does it mean to you to have a heritage or leave a heritage? Have you considered how long it takes to build a heritage?
Whether we realize it or not, our family has a heritage. Typically, we think of heritage in a positive light. But heritages can be negative as well. If our own heritage is negative, it can take years to reverse it and turn it to a positive heritage.
To leave a positive heritage for our children and grandchildren, we must consciously think about our actions, behavior, and attitude. Heritages are not built on words alone, though words are a good place to start. Yet, those words are empty unless we follow them up with actions, behavior, and attitude.
To build a good heritage takes commitment and discipline. There will be times when it will not be easy. The easy path will be to shortcut, cheat, or otherwise a bad action. We may think of a heritage as a legacy. We may think of it as how people remember us when we are gone. But our heritage is also part of who we are in the here and now. Our reputation is part of it. It is how people think of us day-to-day.
We may tell ourselves we don’t care how others think of us, but we would be lying to ourselves. Now, that does not mean we must worry over it. Yet, most people who say they don’t care are not positive in their actions, behavior, and attitude. They are being self-centered, doing what they want rather than what they should. We can care what others think while not allowing ourselves to worry about it by doing good. We can have a good reputation and leave a positive heritage when we choose God’s way over our selfish way.
I pray we all take time to think about our heritage. I pray we decide to leave a positive heritage. I pray each one of us will take the necessary steps through actions, behavior, and attitude to create a positive heritage. Consider your heritage. Determine to have a positive heritage. Commit yourself. Develop discipline to be positive.
Psalm 119:111-112
Your decrees are my heritage forever;
they are the joy of my heart.
I incline my heart to perform your statutes
forever, to the end.
Marty Pressey 