The Cultural Challenge To Building A Family Legacy

Everyone can see that the world we live in today is very different from what it was one, two or three hundred years ago. The most obvious difference is the change in technology that has increased the production of “things” and the material prosperity that goes along with the low cost of production.

When we start to connect the dots we notice that this prosperity is a result of specialization, mechanization of production, centralization to achieve economies of scale and the accumulation of capital into large organizations in order to finance that efficiency. All of this required a change in the educational system to educate and train workers in these highly specialized skills.

Now our tendency can be to blame our cultural woes on our prosperity, the accumulation of things and therefore all the changes that happened to bring that about. There was a reason that families moved from the country to the cities to work in factories in 18th century England – they were starving in the country. But that specialization, mechanization, centralization and capitalization of the economic and culture was not the cause of its woes. Something else was. It was that they forgot God.

A similar thing was happening in New England in America in the late 17th century before the industrial revolution. Remember the settlers of New England, the Pilgrims and the Puritans, were those with the vision of a “City set on a Hill,” a godly society. Puritan minister Cotton Mather in 1702 described the trend toward materialism in New England Society: “Religion begat prosperity and the daughter devoured the mother.” Here is the irony of the situation. When God’s people are faithful, God blesses them with prosperity, but then that very prosperity becomes the greatest test of their sanctification. In fact, prosperity is a greater test of Christian virtue than persecution.

Now the unfortunate result is that many who consider them selves to be faithful Christians then conclude that prosperity is a bad thing, that it is of the devil and therefore to be avoided at all costs. But then they must explain Proverbs 10:22.

“The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.”

To despise the prosperity that comes from faithfulness is to deny the blessing of God. According to 1 Timothy 6:17, riches are given to us by God for our enjoyment.

“Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;”

Paul is warning against the very thing befell the Puritans, forgetting God and trusting in their riches, but the solution is not to despise the rich gifts and blessings of God. They are given to us for our enjoyment and to share with others.

The same is true for building a lasting family legacy today. We must always seek God’s kingdom first, and all these other things will be added to us. (Matthew 6:33)