Being A Browning

What’s in a name? A lot more than just letters. It’s a legacy. But a legacy of what? One of my favorite things to do is to make sure that I go to as many family reunions and Christmas functions as I can. I especially like the Browning “get-togethers.” One I remember vividly happened a few years ago when my Uncle Charlie talked about how thankful he was to have been born into the Browning family. And even though my last name is not Browning, I knew I was a part of it as well.

Well it got me to thinking about what kind of legacy I was passing on to my future generations. The Bible talks about the curses of iniquity visiting the children for three or four generations, and it also talks about God keeping a covenant of mercy lasting for a thousand generations. What kind of legacy am I leaving? The decisions I make are going to have consequences for generations to come. No person lives or dies to themselves. I like to think about it like an account at the bank. What is in my account? Am I leaving blessings of mercy or curses of iniquity? And if I’m trying to leave blessings, what does my account balance look like?

I remember Charlie talking about how that even though they didn’t have a lot of money, they never considered themselves to be poor because they were rich in love. He remembered his mother and father teaching him and his sister and brothers that it was just as easy to say something good about somebody as it was to say something bad. That you didn’t tear somebody down in order to feel better about yourself. That is was just as easy to overlook a wrong as it was to hold a grudge.

I realize that my life is better due to my ancestors. Even when things are not going as well as I would like, I know they would be worse if it were not for the ones who went before me. I know that many of the good things I have experienced were because of the seeds of faithfulness my grandparents had planted. They were storing up blessings in their account that have been passed down to me and hopefully continue to be passed down to future generations. Every time they would forgive someone who had wronged them. Every time they went to church even though they were tired. Every time they gave when there wasn’t much left to give. And every time they gave up something they really wanted so that their children or someone around them might have something they wanted, they were storing up blessings. A Godly heritage is better than great wealth.

I mentioned earlier that hopefully these blessings would continue to flow down to future generations. This will only happen if I play my part. First, I have to make sure that I’m living in such a way that I don’t block those blessings. If I am only concerned about what I need and what I want to do, then I will not only block those blessings from flowing down to future generations, but I can leave curses of iniquity, a legacy that they have to spend much of their time overcoming. Second, I have to make sure that I’m adding to those blessings. It’s one thing for me to want better things for myself, but it’s another thing entirely for me to want to have God bless my children and grandchildren. Am I making sure my mercy account is full? I know how to do it. I’ve had the best role models a person could ask for. I am a Browning.