Using Your Gifts as Your Legacy

Like many of you, I was stunned to hear of the helicopter crash on January 26 that took nine lives, including Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna. So sad and tragic. A good reminder of how precious and fragile life is and how any of us could be gone from this life in a flash. 

As various people around the globe share their thoughts on Bryant and how he inspired them, I was struck by NBA commissioner Adam Silver's statement on Bryant’s passing, “He was generous with the wisdom he acquired and saw it as his mission to share it with future generations...” Those are words worth pondering. 

Bryant was a man who had been given an immense gift in basketball and worked diligently to sharpen that gift. And though Bryant was extremely exceptional, it is common for people to have unique gifts. What isn’t so common is for someone to feel compelled to share that gift with others. Evidently, Kobe didn’t keep that talent to himself; he made it his “mission” to pass the baton to the next generation. That strikes me as something significant. 

This idea has always been very motivating to me. The idea of being good stewards of what we’ve been given and leaving a legacy for the next generation. Not everyone is a natural teacher, so this can be challenging for some, but that’s not to say we can’t share what we have with the next generation. 

My challenge for us today is to consider what our gifts are and how we could potentially share those gifts with the next generation.

For myself, I have the opportunity to teach my kids music, how to study the Bible and how to be a public speaker. As a pastoral counselor, I also have the chance to teach my kids (and others) how to talk to someone who is suicidal, dealing with high anxiety, depressed, guilt-ridden, addicted, or struggling through a faith crisis. It’s one thing to be given these gifts, but it’s a whole other level to pass the baton to the next generation! Our potential to become a life-changing agent in this world suddenly gets immensely magnified! 

Your gifts might be completely different than mine. Either way, I’d love to hear your thoughts. It might take a few moments of consideration to come up with something legit, but I think it’s a worthwhile exercise! Just think of the potential you could have if you figured out how to share your gift with even just one other person! Please share your ideas in the comment section below.