WHAT'S YOUR LEGACY?
CLINT PERCEFULL
Perhaps one of my favorite movies growing up was The Sandlot. I know that may come as a surprise given my distaste for baseball but the movie is not really about the sport. The movie begins with a young boy who has just moved to a new area and has no friends. His mother encourages him to get out into the neighborhood and meet new people, a request he fulfills.
He quickly finds a group of kids playing baseball in an abandoned lot. He grabs his ugly baseball cap and inferior glove and attempts to join the game. There is only one problem, he can’t play baseball. He can’t catch, he can’t throw, and he doesn’t understand any of the terminology. The other kids begin to laugh at him and mock him for his lack of skill in the game. However, one kid, Benny, stands up for him even against the consensus of the group and allows him to play. The new kid, Smalls, is eventually accepted into the group thanks to Benny. That in and of itself would be a great story, one of empathy and compassion. However, it is what Benny does next that defines his legacy.
Later on in the movie, the group of kids find themselves without a ball to play with due to a dinger hit into the adjacent yard. This yard is protected by an enormous dog they all call “The Beast”. Once a ball goes over that fence it becomes property of “The Beast”. Due to his ignorance of the game, Smalls runs home and takes a baseball signed by Babe Ruth to the sandlot so the game can continue. This ball is eventually hit over the fence as well and thus begins the quest to retrieve it. Eventually Benny is able to get it back for Smalls by risking everything to get it.
I have seen this movie so many times I have lost count. I know many of you have seen it as well. At the very end of the movie we are told what each player on the team became later in life. I cannot recall what their legacy was, and I bet those of you who have seen it can’t either. However, I know we can all remember what Benny became and what impact he had on Smalls.
We are all leaving a legacy in some shape or form.
Proverbs 20:7 says “The righteous lead blameless lives; blessed are their children after them.”
Living a life that is pleasing to God will not only bless you, but those that come after you. When our time here on earth is done we will have a legacy. What will be your legacy and how strong will it be?
- Clint