Genesis 26:24
“And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham’s sake.”
We live in a world where many are trying to build their legacy and will hurt anyone who tries to get in their way. This is nothing short of evil. Living to build your own legacy is truly a selfish motive and it only hurts you in the long run.
God was speaking to Isaac in the verse above. As God talked about blessing Isaac, He said that He would bless him for “Abraham’s sake.” What is interesting is that Isaac was not to live for himself or his name, but he was to obey and serve God and he would receive blessings because of Abraham. However, you will see in Genesis 28:13 that God told Jacob that He would bless him for Abraham and Isaac’s sake. God never wanted someone to live for themselves, and if they simply obeyed they would find that God would bless their name and legacy.
There are those in the Scriptures who lived for their own legacy and it never turned out well for them when they died. Absalom was one of those people. He actually built a pillar for himself so that he would be remembered when he was gone. He had no children, and he was concerned with his legacy. The sad part about Absalom was that he was more concerned with his legacy than he was with doing right. If he would have done right, his legacy and name would have taken care of itself. Because he chose to live for himself and tried to build his name, it resulted in his name being marred and one that will live in infamy forever.
Christian, you must never live for what people think about you. You were not placed on this Earth to live for yourself, but you were placed here to live for God. When you make life about you, it will hurt every relationship and will ultimately destroy your life. God warns us in Romans 12:3, “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think…” Be careful about living for your name, and realize that you are to live for the name of Christ.
Moreover, when you live your life to please Christ, then that will build your name in future generations. It is amazing to me that the names we revere are names that did not live for themselves, but they are names where that person lived to please God and serve the next generation. Obedience to God has a way of building your legacy. Obedience is the door to blessing, and blessings will open the door to influence others. That influence is what builds your name when you are gone, but always remember that cannot be your goal.
Friend, the only thing for which you live should be to please God. You will only please God by obeying Him. Living to build your name will destroy your life and your name, but living to serve God and help others will be the key to having a name worth remembering. The best name to have is a name that is or was solely concerned with pleasing God. Do right, and let the LORD determine what to do with your name.