A Threat to Legacy

“Bathsheba bowed down before the king. “What can I do for you?” he asked her. She replied, “My lord, you made a vow before the LORD your God when you said to me, ‘Your son Solomon will surely be the next king and will sit on my throne.’ But instead, Adonijah has made himself king, and my lord the king does not even know about it. He has sacrificed many cattle, fattened calves, and sheep, and he has invited all the king’s sons to attend the celebration. He also invited Abiathar the priest and Joab, the commander of the army. But he did not invite your servant Solomon. And now, my lord the king, all Israel is waiting for you to announce who will become king after you. If you do not act, my son Solomon and I will be treated as criminals as soon as my lord the king has died.” 1 Kings 1:16-21

Experience has shown me that one thing we all have in common is a desire to leave a mark on the world. For some of us, we want to leave a big mark, impacting lots of people and things and making sure the future remembers us in some way. For others, that mark is smaller and we just hope to impact the ones we love so our family for generations can continue to grow and blossom and leave our little corner of the world better than we found it. No matter which end of the spectrum (or any where in between) you may fall, impact and legacy are important. But what happens when that legacy is threatened? What happens when some force tries to tear it apart and make sure we’re wiped away and forgotten when everyone who ever knew us is gone just like we are? Usually we go into protection mode, ready to defend at any and all costs. And that’s usually an easy choice to make. But what happens when the threat is an internal one? What happens when you (and your legacy) are betrayed by someone you thought you could trust?

David experienced this. When he was getting old in age and needed to decide who would be the next king of Israel, his son Adonijah took it upon himself to take the thrown. Why would he do that? Usually the eldest living son of the king becomes king, right? Not in this case. As we’ve seen many times in the Bible, the birthright of being the oldest doesn’t always mean being the ruler. The same was true here. David (and God) had chosen Solomon to be the next king… and Adonijah wasn’t happy about it. So he decided to stage a coup. As long as he could sway the minds of the leaders and if David died without officially naming Solomon, he could take it. He could rule. David was sick in bed all the time at this point anyway right? So he began to make moves. I can only imagine how David must have felt when Bathsheba showed up with the news. He was probably Angry and Hurt by his son’s choice to overthrow him. He’d been dealing with that most of his life and when he was nearing death, it couldn’t have been easy to hear. David was able to jump into action quickly and rectify the situation. But what do you do? You’re probably not a king with thousands of servants and soldiers to carry out your will… so how do you deal with a threat to your legacy? Let me affirm you and hopefully provide a little guidance.

Affirmation 1: You have a right to speak up for your legacy. If you find a threat to what you plan to leave behind, you have the right to speak up about it. Don’t feel like you have to take it lying down because it seems that the other person or obstacle has already won. Fight for your right to choose.

Affirmation 2: When you plan it right, you can pull it off. The main thing David had in his corner was that the plan to put Solomon in place hadn’t actually been thwarted, it just needed to be executed. Adonijah knew that which is why he was trying to move as he did. But once David gave the word for what to do, everyone shifted into action and it went off flawlessly. Too often we allow ourselves to get Anxious when a threat comes our way and we try to fight it instead of sticking with the plan. Stick with the plan and watch things work out better than you expected.

Affirmation 3: Things always work out just how they’re supposed to. If you follow your plan and things still get messed up, it may be time to consider that the plan had a flaw or just wasn’t meant to be. Things happen, and plans change. And that’s okay. Learn to be ok with plans changing. Learn to adapt. David wasn’t thinking about putting his successor into place that day. He was old, and sick and just trying to get through. But things got a little messed up and he had to be okay with launching just a little sooner. When you allow change to have it’s moment and adjust to the change, you can get things on track much smoother and with a lot less stress.

So remember, a threat to your legacy, whether internal or external, can be thwarted if you keep your cool and remember to act according to the plan. A good plan followed through has a better chance at success than a poorly thought out coup. I love you, and I’m rooting for your success always. Keep conquering daily!