Our leadership legacy isn’t ours to build
If your goal in life is to build a memory of yourself and what you've done, how is that different from idolatry, which God hates?
We tend to define "legacy" as passing on the best of ourselves to the next generation. But when you analyze the mechanics of what that really means, you can't avoid the mental picture of erecting a selfie statue for the benefit of future adorers.
I struggle in this area with writing books. In the past I've envisioned people at my wake someday seeing a table full of them, and marveling at what I accomplished in my life. This is my statue, an idol which I must cast down. But I still feel called to write, and I am left with the spiritual tension this calling creates. I guess it's not much different for preachers, musicians, or other public performers that glorify God through their work on stage or at the podium.
For decades I wrote fantasy novels and thrillers that never got published. It was hugely frustrating, but I vowed to spend the rest of my life chipping away until I broke into print. I wanted fans! (Or "followers" in today's vernacular).
When I became a believer in my early twenties, I quickly realized I couldn't keep writing about the same stuff. None of it honored the Lord. My attitude about writing didn't, either.
So I gave up the novel I was working on at the time and dedicated my future writing career to God.
I decided to focus on biblical principles. I made a commitment to encourage Christian leaders as well as reach non-Christians who have an appreciation – a curiosity, if you will—for what the ancient Scriptures say about leading people and running companies.
I still run the risk of God admonishing me for building my own name. This gives me pause when I write. It also makes me sad when I see ministry friends building themselves up, and it forces me to examine my own motivations.
This has driven me to build God's name into the pillar of my life. If you blog or write books or speak to groups, will you join me in this commitment?
I want to build others up. I want to build the next generation, build ministries, friendships and my marriage. I want to do this by building my life on God's Word through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
It's okay to build knowledge, wisdom and character—these are useful in God's economy, and can themselves be passed on.
But let's stop obsessing about the "L" word. We're not here to build legacies, we're here to obey the Lord, love others, and leave a deposit for the next generation.
Excerpted from Servant Leader Strong: Uniting Biblical Wisdom and High-Performance Leadership, by Tom Harper (DeepWater Books, 2019). Also available in Spanish and Amharic.
 | Tom Harper is publisher of BiblicalLeadership.com and executive chairman of Networld Media Group, a business-to-business publisher and event producer. He has written five books, including Servant Leader Strong: Uniting Biblical Wisdom and High-Performance Leadership (DeepWater Books, 2019) as well as the Christian business fable Through Colored Glasses and its sequel Inner Threat (DeepWater, 2022). Learn More » |
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