What legacy are you leaving?

In his first major speech as Prime Minister, David Cameron set out his Olympic legacy aspiration:

"Make sure the Olympics legacy lifts East London from being one of the poorest parts of the country to one that shares fully in the capital's growth and prosperity."

The word “legacy” was bandied about throughout the Olympic period and, on August 12, Sebastian Coe was appointed Olympics legacy ambassador.

Cameron told the BBC there was a "huge opportunity" to build the legacy for the Games. He said that Lord Coe had "done a brilliant job delivering the best Games ever" and added: "Now I want him to help me deliver the best Olympic legacy ever."

This got me thinking about the meaning of “legacy”. It often relates to money, and there's an element of this here, but surely there has to be more to it. Well according to dictionary.com, it means: “a gift of property, especially personal property, as money, by will; a bequest; anything handed down from the past, as from an ancestor or predecessor”. Think Steve Redgrave handing over the torch for the seven young athletes to light the cauldron at the Olympic Opening Ceremony.

Having just finished a full week helping out at a holiday Bible club, I’ve had this word at the back of my mind for a while. People are always complaining about kids today, but in many ways they are simply the product of the legacy we have created for them. 

If we are passing on negative thoughts, anger, bitterness and foul language, how exactly do we expect them to behave? It’s our job to leave them a legacy during our lifetimes that will last well after we are gone. And I’m not just talking about school sports fields (although I do think they’re important!)

The kids at the club were enthusiastic, intelligent and inspirational. It was an absolute privilege being able to spend time with them and to encourage them to follow their dreams.

But with the week over and these kids preparing to go back to school, I hope they’ve taken away principles that will set them up for the rest of their lives: how to overcome real hurdles, finish the race and pass on the baton. I hope they have new ideas about what life is all about and about fixing their eyes on Jesus; about working as part of a team rather than just looking out for themselves; and about how much God loves them.

I don’t know about the kids, but I’ve certainly come away with a new outlook on life and am determined to a) appreciate the legacy that has been left for me by others and b) to leave a legacy that will bless others in the years to come.

In 30 years’ time, the Olympics will be a fond but distant memory, but I hope these amazing kids will remember some of things they’ve learnt and will go on to develop their own ideas about who Jesus is and why they should follow him.

After all, Jesus was all about legacy. Okay, so in human terms he didn't leave a wife or child, a house, clothes, business or money. But what he did leave was far more important. Jesus left us his powerful word and teachings; he revealed who God is; he gave his life to allow us to be reconciled to the Father; he rose again to defeat death so that we could have eternal life; and he left us the Holy Spirit to guide, comfort and protect us. 

Romans 8:17 says: "And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God's glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering."

If all the seven- to eleven-year-olds in the UK are as amazing as the children we got to spend the week with, I think our nation can expect great things in the next few decades: things that are even greater than 65 hard-won medals. I’m excited about the legacy we're leaving!

Read more from Joy in the upcoming issue of Liberti magazine.

Could women's magazines be making matters worse for us girls?

I read a really interesting blog this week, and I felt it was extremely relevant in terms of our vision here at Liberti. 

Entitled “Women’sMagazines and the Cult of Hypocrisy”, Laura Bates complains of “a disturbing and growing trend of women’s magazines affecting a superficial stance of concern about issues that they themselves are often guilty of causing or exacerbating”.

I couldn’t agree more. I’ve said on several occasions that I avoid most women’s mags at all costs because they make me feel inadequate and insecure. One minute they’re deriding celebrities for their spots or cellulite and the next they’re showing airbrushed images of how they think we should all look. And woe betide you if you don’t look perfect, because you’ll never get that job you want or the man of your dreams…

Laura gives a great example of this. “Last week, two editions of Now Magazine appeared on newsstands in the UK,” she writes. “The weekly issue featured a dramatic photograph of model Abbey Crouch, emphasising her prominent collarbones and hollow thighs.

“The headline read ‘Oh no! Scary Skinnies’, while a caption warned: ‘Girls starving to be like her’. Inside, a feature revealed that ‘worryingly, pro-anorexia sites are using her figure as a skinny role model’.

“The other magazine was the Now Celebrity Diet Special. Its cover was emblazoned with a photograph of the same model in a glamorous bikini, under the headline: “Bikini body secrets…stars’ diet and fitness tricks REVEALED.”

According to Laura (and I fully agree): “There is an undeniable disparity between the caring, concerned tone magazines adopt, and the actual pictures and features they continue to publish week in, week out.”

The blog points out that 75% of teenage girls feel depressed, guilty and shameful after spending just three minutes leafing through a fashion magazine, and that a coroner recently held the fashion industry and photographs of wafer-thin girls “directly responsible” for the death of 14-year old schoolgirl Fiona Geraghty, who had bulimia.

“It is time for women’s magazines to stop pretending to advocate for solutions and admit they are part of the problem… Women’s magazines must pay attention to their legacy,” she writes.

When Bekah Legg took over Liberti magazine, her vision was to produce a women’s magazine that was interesting and engaging, but one that would build women up rather than tearing them down. It’s about empowering women to become all that God created them to be – regardless of how they look.

Most women I know have things about their appearance they would like to change, but Liberti encourages us to focus on faith, family and freedom for women across the globe rather than spending all our time wishing we looked like Abbey Crouch (or not!).

Liberti discusses issues such as eating disorders, domestic violence, racism, death, relationships, poverty, human trafficking and many others in a frank, informative way. Rather than focusing on me, me, me, it is designed to get us thinking about our God-given purpose within a world that has so many problems and prejudices. 

There’s no airbrushing or attempts to do others down to make our readers feel better about themselves (which clearly doesn’t work, anyway). Like Laura, we want to leave a lasting and positive legacy for our readers and they people they connect with.

If you're fed up with the typical women’s mags on the high street, why not give Liberti a read? It costs just £12 a year to subscribe and will arrive right on your doorstep every three months!