What legacy do you want to leave behind?

SUNDAY SERMON - Perhaps you have heard the story of the man who owned a cock, a bull and a pig. It is said that when this man received some visitors who had visited him without notice, he debated on which of the three goodies to slaughter. The cock reminded the man of how the man had always been late every morning to work until it (cock) came to the home and now he was not late anymore. Next, he looked at the bull and the bull likewise reminded him of how he used to beg for food every year until it (bull) came to the home and now the man had enough food since he used it to plough his farm. When he reached the pig, it could not remember any contribution it had made. The man therefore slaughtered the pig. The above story brings into focus a very ominous situation for us as individuals. We are citizens of this country and we derive our livelihood from its soil, but do we have any contribution we have made to this country that can be remembered? What contribution have we made to your community or village which can be recounted? The fact is that we might have been effortlessly drifting downstream without leaving any mark on society. We may argue that we are still too young to make a mark, but the question still persists, what impact do we expect to leave in our society when we grow old? Let us also look at a biblical story found in John 4: 12 which strengthen the theme of this sermon. There was this Samaritan woman who was telling Jesus “Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his flocks and herds?” The fact here was that Jacob had dug a well in that part of the country, over one thousand years before Jesus time, which had remained as Jacob’s legacy and it was a source of pride to the Samaritans. Jacob did many things in his lifetime, but the more memorable legacy he had left for future posterity was the well which he dug himself. Before we leave the biblical illustrations, we need to consider something written about the man Mordecai, in the book of Esther 6: 1–2. We read that the King ordered that the books of records be searched to find out who had done some great deeds and had not been rewarded. It was discovered that the Jew, Mordecai, had, at one time, done some heroic act of exposing those who had conspired to kill the King, but he had not been honoured. The king therefore ordered that Mordecai be clothed in the royal robes and be given the royal ring like the one of the king. We know the rest of the story, how Mordecai became the third most powerful man in the kingdom. Mordecai had done something outstanding and was duly remembered for it. As Christians, we should realize that God will remember us for what we have done. If we have been faceless drifters in the world, there will be nothing for which we shall be remembered. It is most worrying that to day there may be people in our midst who may be drifting through life completely rudderless, with no imaginations, no new ideas, and no self-awareness as to the type of legacy they want to leave behind. It is possible that there are people who have no ambitions, no dream, no goal, no purpose and no desires. Such people will fade off from the surface of the earth leaving nothing for which they can be remembered. Being alert to new ideas is like shaving; if you do not do it everyday you become a bum. I would like to suggest that if you find that your world seems to have stopped at some point in time then you need to wriggle yourself out of it by deliberately starting to search for, and maintain, a constant flow of new exciting and powerful ideas on which you should act immediately. Start to look at the big picture and question yourself as to what property value you can bequeath to your country and your community. The legacy you want to leave behind can only be limited by your lack of creativity and imaginations. A country like ours, which is emerging from post war conflict, offers many opportunities for service and achievement. Whether you look in the economic or social sphere, you should be alive to many things which you can do to ensure that future generations can remember that you ever lived. The problem is that we often think that development of a country and its citizens is the duty of some other people or institutions and has nothing to do with us. No, each individual must strive to leave some impact on the lives of his or her fellow beings. Email: redplan20002001@yahoo.com