How do you approach life? Do you simply move about aimlessly without a plan on the hope that fortune will find you? Or, are you a planner, chained to your schedule without a moment to spare? 
 
How do you spend your free time?  Do you surround yourself with those who can elevate you to the next level?  Are you out moving from one great activity to the next?  Where does your deepest passion lie? Whose hearts do you impress yourself upon?
 
With the recent deaths this past Friday of two great Civil Rights Leaders, Rev. C.T. Vivian and Congressman John Lewis I have found myself being very reflective. Asking the age old question, “what really matters”, “what is this life really about” “How do I want to be remembered” “How will I be remembered” But most importantly, am I living a life that is worthy to be remembered
 
What about you?  You see we all, even without, effort leave a legacy behind. The question is what type of legacy will you leave?
 
I know you may say in today’s society, you don’t have time to worry about a legacy; you need to make sure today is taken care of.  I can appreciate this, but my question to you is what about those you interact with on a daily basis, your family, the people you may lead (at work, at church, your kids sporting teams) and those you pass along the way.
 
I would like to touch upon three areas where we have the opportunity to leave a lasting impression and that’s (1) Family, (2) Work and (3) Mentoring
 
Family - ~Proverbs 13:22 says…A good person leaves behind an inheritance for their children’s children.

• How will your family remember you?
• Will they be thankful for the wealth and possessions you leave behind?
• Will they recall the fond memories of the times you shared?
• When your children’s children speak of you what will be said?

 
Work - ~Daniel 12:3 reads…Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like stars for ever and ever.

• How is your leadership?
• Not necessarily at work, but in your extracurricular activities, it could be leading your child’s sporting team, or teaching in your local children’s ministry. 
• What legacy will your leadership leave behind?

 
Mentoring - ~ Titus 2:3-5… Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good.  Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

• Do you have someone in your life that you are helping to guide?  Someone outside of your immediate family?
• The scriptures say the older women should teach the younger women.
• What impact is your life having on the youth you encounter?
• It doesn’t have to be a formal mentoring program, but what about those you pass along the way?
• What examples can they take from your life that will enhance their own?
  
  

There is a quote by Tavis Smiley from the book, The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates that reads “The choices we make about the lives we live determine the kinds of legacies we leave.”

I encourage you this week to be mindful of how you spend your time, the lives you impact and the legacy you are forming!

​The word lie is defined as a false statement made with deliberate intent to deceive. When I think of deliberate, I think of something carefully thought out. This leads me to believe that before someone commits the act of lying they have already weighed the option, considered the outcome and deemed
the act of lying more acceptable than the consequences of being honest.
I would like for us to take a moment and consider two scriptures:

~Jeremiah 17:9 says…The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond
cure. Who can understand it?

~Luke 6:45 reads For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.

The scriptures say the heart is deceitful, misleading, yet the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. Why, did I choose these two scriptures: I was listening to a journalist speak
about an interview Oprah Winfrey conducted with Lance Armstrong, specifically
he was commenting on the point in the interview when Oprah asked Lance
Armstrong if he felt like he cheated and Lance’s response was, NO! No,
although he clearly and consciously went against the guidelines set by his sport
he felt that he had not cheated. However, in his response Lance Armstrong went
on to say that he believes he would not have won those consecutive races had it
not been for the Performance Enhancing Drugs. A clear example of a person
allowing their heart to deceive them; in this we see a man who has been so blinded by
his desire to succeed and the lure to be the best that he in his subconscious
found reasons to tell himself it was OK to take the drugs.

So why do we lie:
1. Acceptance

• We live in a society that tells us you have to be better, faster, stronger, and smarter than the next person in order to advance in life.
• We are told almost from birth that we have to go to school, get a good job, move to just the right neighborhood, send our kids to just the right schools, etc.

~ 2 Peter 1:3 tells us that “His divine power has given us everything we need
for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own
glory and goodness”

• Is God’s will for your life enough?
• Do you trust that God has already given you everything you need?
• Is it a Godly life that you truly desire or are you pulled by the glitz and glamour of what the world has to offer

2. Fear
When pushed against a wall we as humans are designed to fight. When our security is threatened we tend to kick into survival mood. Often times giving in to the desire to lie our way out of a situation instead of trusting God, owning up to our mistakes and accepting the
consequences of our actions.

~2 Timothy 1:7 says… For the Spirit God has given us does not make us
timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

~Psalm 56:3-4 says…When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose
word I praise- in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do
to me?

• When your back is up against the wall and you feel there is no way out what is your response?
• Do you become timid and afraid and turn to lies and deceit to get out of the situation?
• Do you stand firm on God’s promises, admit your faults and joyfully make amends, driven by the security that God has the final say in the outcome of any situation?

3. Desire to Please People
Let’s be honest, at some point in our lives we all wanted to be liked. We all wanted to be able to say yeah, I pitched in and helped out in that situation. Then there are times when we just see a need and our desire to help out ways or ability and means.

~Matthew 5:37 reads…All you need to say is simply “Yes” or “No”

Two very simple words, yet at times two of the hardest words in the English language.

Are you driven by your desire to help (which is not a bad thing) but in your attempt to help you tend to make promises you cannot fulfill?

So what can you do to avoid falling into deceit:
1. Let your yes be your yes

• Only commit to things that you can fulfill
• Do not allow your heart to dictate your abilities

2. Get to know yourself

• Recognize when you are feeling tense and tempted to lie
• Learn what makes you fearful

3. Be honest with yourself

• Recognize and acknowledge when you are exaggerating
• Stop making excuses as to why it is OK to go against what is right

Lies, deceit, deceptions, untruths, they hurt. They hurt those you love, those you
encounter along the way and they hurt YOU!