Proverbs 13:22a A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children
A good man leaves an inheritance [of moral stability and goodness] to his children’s children Amplified Bible
A good life gets passed on to the grandchildren The Message
30 for 30 of two strikingly different athletes with relatively short careers
Both men left a legacy
Bo Jackson
On July 29, 1988 against the Baltimore Orioles, Jackson, batting against Jeff Ballard
Turned to the home plate umpire and attempted to call time out as Ballard was delivering the ball.
The time-out wasn't granted, but Jackson recovered to swing and hit the pitch over the left-field wall for a home run
Jackson began to show his true potential in 1989, when he was voted to start for the American League All-Star team
In the top of the first inning, he caught Pedro Guerrero's 2-out line drive to left-center field to save two runs.
Then he led off the bottom of the first—his first All-Star plate appearance—with a monstrous 448-foot home run off Rick Reuschel of the San Francisco Giants.
NBC-TV announcer Vin Scully exclaimed, "Look at that one! Bo Jackson says hello!"
On July 11, 1990 against the Orioles, Jackson performed his famous "wall run", when he caught a ball approximately 2–3 strides away from the wall
As he caught the ball at full tilt, Jackson looked up and noticed the wall and began to run up the wall
One leg reaching higher as he ascended
The announcer referred to him as Spiderman
He ran along the wall almost parallel to the ground, and came down with the catch, to avoid impact and the risk of injury from the fence
That was just a few of his baseball highlights
After his first year with the Royals he decided he wanted to play football
As a hobby, he actually said it was a hobby
He was drafted by the LA Raiders during spring training with the Royals
Perhaps his most notable performance in his rookie season came on Monday Night Football against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 11.
Prior to the game Seahawks linebacker Brian Bosworth insulted Jackson and promised in a media event before the game to contain Jackson.
Jackson responded by running over Bosworth on his way to a touchdown near the goal line.
He also made a 91-yard run in the 2nd quarter, to the outside, untouched down the sideline.
Jackson was running so fast that his momentum carried him into the tunnel leading to the locker rooms and his teammates had to retrieve him
Bo Jackson played for the Kansas City Royals from 1987-1990 and with the Chicago White Sox in 23 games 1991 and 85 games 1993
He played for the Los Angeles Raiders from 1987-1990
He was drafted in the second round of the 1982 draft by the New York Yankees, but turned it down to fulfill a promise he made to his mother to be the first in his family to attend college
Bo Jackson left a legacy
Anyone remember the Ad campaign Nike had starring Bo Jackson?
Bo KNOWS?
You can still buy Bo Knows T-shirts to this day
Christian Laettner
Drafted third overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves, Laettner played 13 years in the NBA, from 1992–2005.
However, his NBA career was characterized by transience, shortness, as he played for six different teams, was traded six times, and never spent more than three full seasons anywhere.
In 2004 he was suspended several games for using marijuana.
Laettner is most known for being hated
Hated by fans, opposing players, even teammates
You can buy I Still Hate Laettner t-shirts today
Both men left a legacy
Legacy? What is the definition of “legacy”?
Webster’s Dictionary defines legacy as “a gift by will especially of money or other personal property”
How is the word legacy most often used today?
Most people think of a legacy as something that remains after we leave this world
Or after we leave a particular occupation or postion
What a person will be remembered for
I’m going to name some people and tell me what their legacy is
Let’s start with athletes
Michael Jordan
Mark McGwire
Mike Tyson
Joe Montana
Politicians are also know for leaving a legacy
John F Kennedy
Richard Nixon
Ronald Reagan
Bill Clinton
Barrack Hussein Obama
It seems most politician’s main goal now-a-days is to build a legacy
What is your legacy, my legacy?
What am I leaving behind?
Am I leaving an inheritance [of moral stability and goodness] to my children’s children?
What will my kids tell their kids about me?
How will their grandfather look to them?
Southern Gospel group Brian Free and Assurance
I Want to be That Man
He was awake before the sun with his Bible opened up
Seeking truth with every single page he turned
Anyone could see my daddy lived what he believed
With a gentle heart and passion for Jesus’ blood
I know we had our times we disagreed
But the longer I live it’s clear to me
I want to be that man
Who loves the Lord with all his heart just like the Word commands
Who takes a stand and leads his family as he holds the Father’s hand
I want to be that man
Society would say there’s a new ideal today
Not what you give, it’s more about what you can get
But I want to live a life that’s marked by sacrifice
Like the Savior who died to show us all the way
So I’ll take up my cross and trace His steps
Surrendering is how I serve Him best
I want to be that man
Who loves the Lord with all his heart just like the Word commands
Who takes a stand and leads his family as he holds the Father’s hand
I want to be that man
Just like Peter, Paul, and all the saints of days gone by
Let me show that kind of faith to those who come behind
Men let’s leave a legacy that our grandchildren will want to know about
A man by the name of John Lifflander wrote about our Christian legacy
Let us consider our legacy
Young or old, for a moment let us pretend we are looking back on our lives. What will our friends, neighbors, enemies, children, parents, and others say about us?
Whatever we conclude, the wonderful news is this
As long as we are still on this planet it is not too late to improve our legacy.
