Simple Church Serious Faith
Passing on a Legacy
09/26/11 Filed in: Legacy
Passing on a legacy to multiple generations
Principles observed in the life of Wendell Abbott
“A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children” (Prov. 13:22).
The greatest inheritance you can leave to future generations has little to do with finances and everything to do with character.
1. Harness past pain to develop determination rather than viewing yourself as limited.
Difficulties and past failures develop an inner strength so embrace them.
Heb. 12:7 “Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons.”
2. Have faith in God
Righteous, true, character is impossible without a vital relationship with Jesus. Cultivate it. Your children and grandchildren will question where you get that character from and will trace it back to your God. Make sure it is real.
3. Love your woman / man
You are teaching your children and grandchildren what a good marriage looks like; what to look for in a spouse; how to disagree while still showing love and respect.
4. Money is a means to live not a purpose for life
5. Live by courage not by fear
Faith in God will enable you to take on challenges bigger than yourself.
Faith in self will embolden you to press on when failure is possible.
Faith in the next generations will infuse them with the courage to try what they have not tried before.
6. Work hard
7. Sacrifice for Family
8. Spend time with the family.
Be careful to keep life in balance or you may neglect your children.
9. Pass on a Blessing
A gift in the form of a vision that you believe that person can become. Repeat it often. Look at your child or grandchild; you see gifts, abilities and skills that are developing. You can see what they can become by what you see. Tell them the bright future you see in them often. That is a blessing.
10. Don’t make it easy, but make it achievable
Challenge your children / grandchildren, so they will develop skill and stamina, but make sure they can be mostly successful at their level.
11. Discipline don’t crush
Discipline always builds a child up. It corrects and usually hurts, but the goal is always improvement, especially when it comes to your child’s self-esteem.
12. Provide strong support
If your child gets in a tight spot, will he/she think of turning to you for help?
13. Teaching primarily by example rather than words
You are being watched at all times. Every action you make is a teaching moment.
blog comments powered by Disqus