Gaven & Martha Banik
Martha and I share a rich heritage of legacy giving. Both of our parents were incredibly generous givers. They were consistently faithful stewards of their time, talent and treasure.
In our 54 years of married life, Martha and I have always agreed on the principle of “first fruits giving.” We always gave a portion regardless of how much we had. That doesn’t mean we didn’t sometimes wonder how we would pay the bills! Yet God has always been faithful in providing for our needs.
For us, legacy living means embracing the perspective that we are stewards, not owners. Four principles have guided our perspective.
- Believe that God OWNS it all. (Psalms 24:1)
- Understand the RESPONSIBILITY He has given us. (Now and after we’re gone.)
- Remain ACCOUNTABLE for how we steward what He provides. (Matthew 12:36)
- Remember our REWARD: our true treasure is found in eternity with Him, not here on Earth. (Colossians 3:23-24)
We don’t get credit for what we leave behind. As David Green writes in The Legacy Life, our legacy is defined by what we put in motion.”
As Martha and I grew older, we realized that having an estate plan was important because we didn’t want someone else deciding what to do with what we leave behind. Having a plan was a priority for us.
An estate plan is a tool that allows us to leave a legacy gift to the ministries that we have supported over the years. It also helps us steward what we have been blessed with in this life.
Starting our estate plan was daunting. We didn’t know how to tackle it on our own. That’s where MB Foundation was very helpful. They helped us navigate the process of developing our estate plan. We are glad we completed it. We now have peace of mind knowing we have done our best to manage the resources God entrusted to us.
If we could offer one piece of advice: don’t put off getting your house in order because you can’t control your entry or exit from this world.