Of all the things you will build in your lifetime—a career, a reputation, a collection of possessions—only one truly matters: your legacy. At the end of our days, we all leave something behind. We will all pass on an inheritance. The question is, what will it be? Will it be one of substance, value, and eternal weight? Or will it be empty, fleeting, and worthless?

The Bible presents this choice with startling clarity in the book of Proverbs. Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, lays out the options in Proverbs 11:29, stating, “He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart.”

To inherit the wind. Think about that. Wind is formless, powerless to be grasped, and ultimately empty. It’s the perfect picture of a life lived for vanity. The alternative, promised to the faithful, is to inherit something solid, lasting, and real—to inherit the land. This isn’t just a choice for kings and prophets; it’s a daily decision for every Christian. Are the choices you make today building a legacy of substance, or are you simply troubling your own house and positioning yourself to inherit the wind?

“He That Troubleth His Own House”: The Path to an Empty Inheritance

What does it mean to “trouble his own house”? This phrase goes far deeper than simply causing arguments around the dinner table. Your “house” represents everything under your stewardship: your family, your finances, your testimony, your very life and legacy. To trouble it is to destabilize it from within through foolish, selfish, and ungodly choices. It’s a life built on a foundation of sand, destined to be blown away.

This trouble can manifest in several ways:

• Greed and Selfish Ambition: This is the man who sacrifices his family on the altar of his career. He misses his children’s youth in pursuit of another dollar, another promotion, another worldly accomplishment. He provides material things but starves his family of spiritual leadership and presence. His focus is on building his own earthly kingdom, forgetting that it will all turn to dust. He troubles his house by putting himself and his desires at the center of it.
• Uncontrolled Anger and Strife: A house filled with bitterness, rage, and constant conflict is a troubled house. The man or woman who brings strife into the home—who refuses to forgive, who speaks with a sharp tongue, who rules with an iron fist rather than a servant’s heart—poisons the well from which their own family must drink. They create an environment of fear and instability, not the peace and security that should mark a Christian home.
• Spiritual Apathy and Neglect: Perhaps the most common and dangerous way to trouble one’s house is through spiritual neglect. This is the father who fails to lead his family in prayer, who doesn’t open the Word of God with his children, who prioritizes Sunday sports over the assembling of the saints at church. He builds a house with no spiritual foundation, no anchor, and no defense against the enemy. He leaves his family exposed to the storms of a fallen world.

In each case, the result is the same: the man who lives this way “shall inherit the wind.” At the end of a life spent chasing selfish desires, what is left? His money will be passed to others who may squander it. His career achievements will be a footnote in a company’s history. His possessions will rust and decay. He is left with nothing of eternal value.

The prophet Hosea echoes this principle with a terrifying escalation: “For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind” (Hosea 8:7). A life of vanity doesn’t just end in nothingness; it culminates in chaos, destruction, and regret. The fool who troubles his own house eventually finds that his poor choices have enslaved him, just as the proverb says: “…and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart.” He becomes a slave to his passions, his debts, his broken relationships, and his empty legacy.

The Way of the Wise: Securing an Eternal Inheritance

If the fool inherits the wind, what is the reward for the wise? The Bible answers this question with a promise of beautiful substance and permanence. Psalm 37:9 declares, “For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.” Jesus Himself repeats this promise in the Beatitudes: “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5).

Inheriting the earth, or the land, is the polar opposite of inheriting the wind. Land is solid, tangible, fruitful, and lasting. It represents a secure, stable inheritance from God Himself. This inheritance is not for the proud, the selfish, or the striver, but for two specific kinds of people: those who wait upon the Lord and the meek.

• Those that wait upon the LORD. Waiting on the Lord is an act of faith and patience. It is the conscious decision to trust God’s timing, provision, and direction instead of running ahead in our own strength and wisdom. The man who waits on the Lord is not lazy; he is actively dependent. He builds his house not with frantic, self-serving energy, but with prayerful consideration and obedience to God’s Word. He seeks God’s will before he makes a decision, trusting that God’s plan is infinitely better than his own.
• The meek. In our culture, meekness is often mistaken for weakness. Biblically, meekness is strength under God’s control. It is humility. It is a teachable spirit that says, “Not my will, but thine, be done.” The meek man does not trouble his house with pride or a demand to have his own way. Instead, he leads with a servant’s heart, following the example of Christ. He is gentle, patient, and quick to listen, creating a home of stability and grace.

Building this kind of lasting, eternal inheritance is the core of daily Christian living. It doesn’t happen by accident. It is built, day by day, upon three foundational pillars.

Secure Your Salvation. Before you can build an eternal legacy, you must possess eternal life. An inheritance in heaven is reserved for the children of God. If you have never admitted you are a sinner, believed that Jesus Christ died for your sins and rose again, and confessed Him as your Lord and Savior, then your first step is to secure your salvation.

Stand Strong. A life that inherits the land is a life built on godly habits. It requires being battle-ready every day through a vibrant prayer life, daily time in God’s Word, and faithful fellowship with other believers. Prayer is how we wait on the Lord. The Bible is the lamp unto our feet that guides our construction. And fellowship is the accountability and encouragement we need to keep building when the world tries to tear us down.

Serve Faithfully. God didn’t save us to sit still; He saved us for good works. Our eternal inheritance is built not by what we accumulate for ourselves, but by what we pour out for others in the name of Christ. Serving faithfully—in your church, in your community, and in your workplace—is how you lay up treasures in heaven. It’s the practical work of building a house that will stand for eternity.

What Are You Sowing Today?

Every day, you are sowing seeds. Your thoughts, your words, your actions, and your priorities are all seeds that will produce a harvest. You are either sowing to the wind or sowing for the land. There is no middle ground. Take a moment for an honest inventory of your life. Which column do your daily habits fall into?

Sowing to the Wind (Troubling Your House)	Sowing for the Land (Building Your House)
Living for self-gratification and worldly approval	Living for Christ’s glory and eternal rewards
Chasing money, fame, and fleeting pleasures	Cultivating the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace…
Causing strife, holding grudges, and speaking harshly	Promoting peace, offering forgiveness, and speaking grace
Neglecting prayer and the Word of God for entertainment	Prioritizing daily communion with God through His Word
Building a legacy of things that rust, break, and fade	Investing in the souls of men and women
Making your family and church an afterthought	Making your family and church a primary ministry

The choice between scrolling on your phone for another hour or spending 15 of those minutes in prayer is a choice between the wind and the land. The choice to gossip about a brother in Christ or to pray for him is a choice between the wind and the land. The choice to hold onto bitterness toward a family member or to seek reconciliation in humility is a choice between the wind and the land.

Your inheritance is being determined not by a single grand gesture, but by a thousand small, daily choices.

An Inheritance That Cannot Fade

We are all building a house. We will all leave a legacy. The question is whether that house will be blown away like chaff, leaving behind an inheritance of wind, or if it will stand on the solid rock of Jesus Christ, securing an inheritance that is eternal.

The world offers you a portfolio of things that are guaranteed to fail: stocks that crash, reputations that tarnish, bodies that weaken, and possessions that break. It invites you to pour your life into a foundation of vanity.

God, however, offers an inheritance that is incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you (1 Peter 1:4). This is the land. This is the promise for the meek, for those who wait upon the Lord, for those who refuse to trouble their house with the foolishness of this world.

Don’t gamble with eternity. Stop chasing the wind. Make the conscious decision today to build your life, your home, and your legacy on the one foundation that can never be shaken: the Lord Jesus Christ. Start by securing your salvation, then commit to standing strong in the faith and serving Him faithfully. The winds and waves of this life will come, but your house will stand, and your inheritance will be sure.