Envisioning a Legacy
Proverbs 6: 1-11
Steven Cook tells of reading an account of a missionary from India: "The Lord must have desired to teach me something through the "ants" because He allowed me to come in contact with enough of them! The encyclopedia says there are more ants than any other insect. It seems that most of them must be in India! He goes on to say… "everywhere he looked there were ants" - Ants in the plastic bag of bread, though it was securely tied. Ants in a jar of jam, though its lid was screwed on it. Ants in the margarine, swimming in the liquid goo. Ants in a tin box of cookies, though its lid was tightly fastened. Ants…Ants…Ants everywhere all day long!! By evening I was thoroughly annoyed. I had eaten ants in my breakfast, lunch, and supper. Hoping to get a good night’s sleep, I moved my cot into the open, away from the tent and the trees. As I lay down with a sigh of exhaustion, I was soon jolted from my rest by the fiery bites of more ants!!! The Prov. 6:6 states, "Go to the ANT…consider her ways and be wise." A aunt only lives 45-60 days but just go outside after a rain and look and see what they have accomplish in such a short amount of time.
The ant reminds us that life is a gift from God and we are to accomplish things with this gift. In other words, life is God’s gift to us but what we do with this life is our gift to God. That is your legacy. Now to maximize this gift which I been have given, it’s absolutely critical that I shift from looking at myself as a consumer to a creator. A creator is always producing more than they consume so that the investment of their life extends for God’s purposes far beyond this circle of themselves. In comparison, a consumer consumes all that comes into their hands. So a creator is making every decision with a future focus. A consumer on the other hand is always making a decision on the here and now and that often leads to paying for the past.
Our Scripture today is another passage where God deals with the money matters of our life. Specifically, it deals with the dangers of debt. God says what we observe in the ant gives us guidance in our own lives. Now the ant has no boss or wife to tell them what to do but they continue to store and save for the future. I think this passage has God asking us three questions.
First, who are your money mentors? Our Scripture says, Go to the ant and observe. In our lives, we should be a student of successful people. For you to be all God intended and to accomplish all God has in store for your life, you need to periodically re-evaluate who’s surrounding you. Who gives you life, who spurs your dreams, who challenges you and pushes you beyond what you think you can accomplish on your own. You need to evaluate who’s influencing you so you can influence others for the purposes of God. When you move forward in life, it’s so important to have somebody in your life who is greater and more skilled and experienced than you. Now you don’t have to go get a spiritual giant, just someone who is a little further down the road than you and who is seeking after the heart of God in every area of their life. A mentor is someone who can give you guidance and wisdom and who can hold you accountable. You’re only as good as the company you keep. That means it’s critical to have people in your life who are working in you and encouraging you to be all God intended for you. The impact of your influence is only as great as the people who are influencing you.
Your influence is the fuel which one day will ignite your success and your legacy. It’s all about who’s surrounding you. In order to fulfill a legacy, you need the right people in the right place and at the right time of your life. Everybody needs somebody in their lives who helps them pursue the great things of God. When you have a mentor in your life, not only will God allow you to have an imprint with your life but God will allow you to have an impact in the lives of others and to leave a legacy. When you have the right people around you, it allows and empowers you to have an impact far beyond yourself. An imprint can be here today and gone today. It’s short-lived and temporary. But a legacy last far beyond us. Too often we settle for an imprint but God wants us to have a permanent imprint on the lives of others. God doesn’t just want you to have an imprint with your life, he wants you to have an impact that lasts long after you’re gone, all for the glory of God.
Now when we’re talking about a financial mentor, it’s not a Donald Trump. What we’re talking about is someone who is sowing righteousness, who realizes that we have been blessed to be a blessing and is seeking to make an eternal investment. Successful people are generous people. They are sowing and producing a righteous harvest. Verse 9 says, “They have scattered abroad their gifts to the poor and their righteousness (their legacy, their impact) endures forever.” What makes them successful is they scatter their gifts to the poor and their righeousness produces a legacy. I’m looking for those kind of people who are rich toward God, they are disciplined in their financial practices and they’re sowing seeds to help those in need. Not only are they generous people but second they are disciplined people.
Second, what are you storing. Verse 8 says, “it stores its provisions in summer.” I want you to notice that the ant isn’t consuming more than it’s earning. The key to financial freedom is that you continue to spend less than you earn. Many times, people believe they don’t have enough to begin doing something like this. In reality the problem is usually not that they don’t earn enough but that they are overspending. We can’t always control how much we have but we can control what we spend. Last week, we learned that for every dollar an American earns, they spend $1.22. The problem is overspending. The financial decisions I make today determine my future. The decisions I make today will determine the quality of my children’s future. 87% of Americans are not preparing for their children’s college tuition. The cost of a 4 year college degree at LSU is now $60,000. What do you think the cost is going to be in 5 or 10 years?
Creators make decisions with an eye for the future. Consumers make decisions which serve the past. The season we are about to enter is the perfect example. The Christmas season is the season of overspending. Ebony Magazine said that the average American will put $2000 on a credit card. When we look at this and understand maximizing a kingdom legacy, we realize that this would not maximize the impact that I can have for my spending for God’s purpose. What’s more, it affects my children and their focus because it contradicts what we are trying to do: to raise them to be Jesus followers rather than Jesus believers. Now let’s go back to the $2000 on the credit card. Don’t think you can do it? Most Americans underestimate by 60% what they put on their credit cards. The credit card companies have passed a law that says you have to pay 2% as a minimum payment on your balance and that’s usually at 18% interest. That’s $40 a month. $30 of that is interest. When that bill comes due in January, you think things are tight and so you make the minimum payment. And if you only send $40 a month, it will take more than 31 years to pay it off. And at 30 years, you will pay almost $5000 in interest. Debt is not our friend.
The first commitment I’m going to ask you to make today is to avoid credit card debt this Christmas. Avoid credit card debt this year and establish a Christmas budget based on paying cash. Most people do it backwards. They make their list of who they are going to buy for and how much they’re going to spend on each person and then they total it up. Instead, set a budget first of what you’re going to spend. Second, make a list of people you’re going to give to and don’t forget Jesus. Most people forget the one whose birthday it is in the first place: Jesus. Now that you have your budget, decide how much you can spend on each, leave your credit card at home and pay cash.
There are three questions I hear God asking. First, who are your mentors? Second, what are you storing? Third, how well are you gathering. The ant gathers its food at harvest. Gathering is anything you have in your lifetime where you have all of the fruits that I can possibly pick. Too many of us pick the easy fruit and we leave the hard to pick fruit on the tree to spoil. How do you pick all of the fruit? You have to maximize your earnings. Work is good. It’s not something to be avoided. Work is a gift from God. Our culture idolizes leaisure. Now I’m not endorsing being a workaholic but work is the power in your life where you’re able to create a legacy by being rich toward God, where you’re able to live a disciplined life and know the benefits of it. Verses 9-11 talks about work as a gift and how you don’t want to rest when it’s time to work. If I am possessed by the spirit of Jesus, what will the quality of my work look like? Will it be good or will it be excellent. Jesus is the embodiment of excellence here on earth. If I am touched and transformed by Jesus then everything I touch, I am going to add value to. When you do as great bad for a great God, it becomes a source of blessing.
Now you maximize your earnings by maximizing your return on your earnings. First, Let me remind you of what we said last week: what you earn today, invest it. Everyone should be contributing to IRA’s 401Ks. Many of your employers will match what you put in. So many young people leave on the table what the company is willing to match. Don’t turn down free money! Second, minimize your losses. You do that by getting rid of your debt beginning with the highest interest rate. Third, beware of overly risky investments. If it sounds too good to be true then it probably is. If you lose 50% of your investments you have to get a 100% return just to get your money back and that doesn’t include the interest you lost.
Suze Orman in her book, “9 Steps to Financial Freedom” writes: When I was 13, my dad owned his own business—a tiny shack where he sold chicken, ribs, hamburgers, hot dogs, and fries. One day the oil that the chicken was fried in caught fire. In a few minutes the whole place exploded in flames. My dad bolted from the store before the flames could engulf him. Then my mom and I arrived on the scene, and we all stood outside watching the fire burn away my dad’s business. All of a sudden, my dad realized he had left his money in the metal cash register inside the building, and I watched in disbelief as he ran back into the inferno before anyone could stop him. He tried to open the metal register, but the intense heat had already sealed the drawer shut. Knowing that every penny he had was locked in front of him about to go up into flames, he picked up the scalding metal box and carried it outside. When he threw the register on the ground, the skin on his arms and chest came with it. He had escaped the fire safely once, untouched. Then he voluntarily risked his life and was severely injured. The money was that important. That was when I learned that money is obviously more important than life itself. From that point on, earning money—lots of money—not only became what drove me professionally, but also became my emotional priority.
Faith comes from hearing the Word of God but it becomes real by doing the word of God. One of the best ways that is seen is by acts of blessings which not only bless yourself but bless the people you are serving or helping. God desires freedom and liberation and Christ-likeness in every area of your life, including your money matters.
You’ve heard a lot of the word of God today but it’s activated only when you start to do the Word of God. This is the week we ask you to sit at home and evaluate the money that God has entrusted you with. Are you a creator or consumer? Are you a steward or do you see yourself as an owner? Stepping out in faith toward being rich toward God, I want you first to deal with the debt in your life and how you are spending your money and making a commitment to creating a positive future for your children.
