Mission and Ministry vs. Legacy and Ego

One of the things which drives me crazy is people who say that they're doing something in the name of their faith, but really, they're doing it so that people will remember them and their name.

Don't get me wrong.  I don't think that there is anything wrong with wanting to leave a legacy, to making an impact.  To me, the wrong comes with the motivation.  I hope that when I get to heaven that I will hear God say, "well done my good and faithful servant."

I was once involved with an organization that had an amazing story.  It's rich history, heritage, impact, and initial motivation was fantastic.  But then things started to change.  Discussions around the table went from being about "how are the lives of the people that we're serving better because we're here", to "how can we capture the history of how we've served so that people will know that we were here".  The focus - in my opinion - shifted from an impact on many individual lives, to a monument of specific lives.  From mission and ministry to legacy and ego.

If you believe, as I do, that we're called to serve and strive to make an eternal impact on the lives of others, then you know it isn't at all about you or me.  That to really serve, to really humble yourself, you can't do it by yourself.  But when you keep your eyes on the mission and ministry, and the One who you are serving, anything is possible.  It isn't about applying human metrics (which in many cases are important to track), but rather remembering God's metrics which are beyond our measurement.  It isn't about who gets the credit, creating something new, or doing it "our way".  It should be about why and for whom we're doing it.

I recently started receiving daily email messages from John Maxwell called his "A Minute with Maxwell" (you can sign up to receive these FREE!).  In these video messages, he spends one minute giving his thoughts on a particular word, ranging from wisdom to hope to success and everything in between.  Today's message was on legacy.  You can listen to it here.  He says a couple of things that I want you to consider:

• We can decide today what we want people to say about us tomorrow.
• Start today to create your legacy.
• Visualize your legacy tomorrow, value it today.

What kind of legacy do you want to leave?  Do you want it to be one built of brick and mortar?  One with a plaque on the wall?  Or do you want it to be one of lives touched and blessed and written on the hearts of those who tell of it?