Monuments or Sonship: What Are You Really Building?

I'm on a flight returning from a trip across some of the most breathtaking and historically rich places on earth — Rome, Florence, Corsica, Ibiza, and Barcelona. Cities crowned with cathedrals, castles, and colossal statues. I stood in places where emperors ruled, popes rose to power, and ancient warriors fought to claim a legacy of greatness.

And what struck me most wasn’t just the beauty or brilliance of the architecture—it was the motive behind the monuments.

Most of them were built to declare “Look at me.”

Monuments of conquest. Of ego. Of men trying to make themselves gods.

Whether it was Pharaoh, Caesar, or a Renaissance pope, they all had one thing in common:

They were building kingdoms that would eventually crumble.

We still live in that world.

A world obsessed with legacy, self-branding, platform-building, and image management. We curate feeds, chase influence, and chase applause—believing we must build something that proves our worth.

But the gospel flips it upside down.

It made me ask:

What am I building?

Am I stacking bricks of self-promotion, image, performance, and control—hoping the world will approve of what I leave behind?

Or am I living as a son — secure, surrendered, and building what lasts?

Because here’s the truth:

A son still builds — but he doesn’t build for his name. He builds from his name.

He builds from identity, not for identity.

He builds not his kingdom, but the Father’s.

And he’s not obsessed with legacy — because he already has one.

There’s a stark difference between monuments and sonship:

Monuments are built to preserve your name.

Sons are content to lift up the Father’s.

Monuments are driven by fear of being forgotten.

Sons rest in being known.

Monuments seek to dominate.

Sons are free to serve.

Every city I visited bore the weight of men who had to be remembered.

But the kingdom of God isn’t built by insecure men needing legacy—

It’s built by sons who know they already have one.

You don’t need to build a monument.

You need to take your place in the family.

Stop striving for glory that fades.

Live in the identity that never does.

Because at the end of the day, it’s not what you built that matters—

It’s whose you were while building it.

Want to build from your identity—not for it?

Start your journey to sonship:

👉 Download the 29-Day Devotional

“It Is Never Too Late to Be a Son.”