Building For Legacy

The Apostle Paul presents a sobering reality: there's a coming fire that will test the quality of every builder's work. Some work—built with gold, silver, and costly stones—will survive. Other work—built with wood, hay, and straw—will burn. The builder's salvation isn't at stake, but their legacy is. What you're building today will either echo in eternity or vanish like smoke.

The Kingdom Truth

Not all success is created equal—some achievements burn away while others echo forever, and the difference is what you build with and what you build for.

This principle transforms how we approach our professional lives because it forces us to distinguish between impressive and eternal. In God's economy, the size of your accomplishment matters less than its substance. You can build empires that crumble or create simple works that endure forever. The question isn't how much you're building—it's whether what you're building can survive eternity's fire.

Devotional

Not all success is created equal—some achievements burn away while others echo forever, and the difference is what you build with and what you build for.

This principle transforms how we approach our professional lives because it forces us to distinguish between impressive and eternal. In God's economy, the size of your accomplishment matters less than its substance. You can build empires that crumble or create simple works that endure forever. The question isn't how much you're building—it's whether what you're building can survive eternity's fire.

Devotional

Thompson stood at the top of his industry. Three decades of relentless work had produced a commercial real estate empire worth hundreds of millions. His name adorned buildings across the city. Trade publications featured him as a visionary. By every earthly measure, he had built something impressive.

But at his 60th birthday celebration, surrounded by business partners and clients, a question haunted him: When I'm gone, what will actually matter?

That question led Thompson to 1 Corinthians 3, where Paul describes a fire that tests every builder's work. Thompson realized with uncomfortable clarity that most of what he'd spent thirty years building would burn. The deals, the developments, the dollars—all wood, hay, and straw in eternity's economy.

He wasn't being called to abandon his business. He was being called to rebuild it with different materials.

Thompson began evaluating every project through a new filter: Will this survive the fire? He started prioritizing developments that created affordable housing alongside luxury properties. He mentored young Christian developers, investing time in people rather than just properties. He restructured his company's mission to explicitly include community transformation, not just profit maximization.

But the most significant change came in how he used his buildings. Thompson began offering below-market rates to nonprofits and ministries that served the community. His properties became hubs for after-school programs, job training, and community services. He wasn't just building real estate—he was building Kingdom infrastructure that would impact lives for generations.

The financial returns didn't suffer—they actually improved as purpose-driven development attracted better tenants and community support. But more importantly, Thompson could see the difference between his early projects and his later ones. The early buildings were just structures. The later ones were legacies—places where lives were being transformed and Kingdom work was being multiplied.

Now when Thompson walks past his buildings, he doesn't just see commercial success. He sees families housed, lives changed, and Kingdom impact that will survive long after the bricks crumble. He had learned the difference between building big and building eternal.

This is Paul's warning and invitation to every marketplace leader: examine your foundation and choose your building materials carefully. What you create today will face fire tomorrow. Build for the legacy that survives.

Reflection

For Your Heart:

• If your life's work faced a fire that burned away everything temporary, what would remain?

For Your Work:

• Are you building primarily for earthly success (impressive but temporary) or eternal impact (simple but lasting)?

For Your Legacy:

• What one project, relationship, or initiative could you invest in that would still matter 100 years from now?

This Week's Challenge

Audit one major project or initiative you're currently working on. Ask yourself honestly: "Is this wood, hay, and straw—or gold, silver, and costly stones?" If it's the former, identify one way to rebuild it with eternal materials by adding Kingdom purpose, people development, or lasting impact.

Let's close in prayer.

Heavenly Father,

Forgive me for building monuments that won't survive and chasing success that won't matter. Give me wisdom to build with eternal materials—investing in people, advancing Your kingdom, and creating work that echoes forever. Help me build a legacy that survives the fire.

In Jesus' name, Amen.