What does Proverbs 10:7 mean?

Righteous men and women, as well as the wicked, will all die, because "it is appointed for man to die once" (Hebrews 9:27). However, what godly people leave behind is quite different from the legacy of the wicked.

Those who honor God and live by His law (Proverbs 1:7) leave behind a memorable legacy. Those who live on recall the blessings that accompanied their lives. They are grateful that the righteous helped them grow spiritually. Ecclesiastes 7:1 says, "A good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of birth." Psalm 112:3 tells us the righteousness of the person who fears the Lord endures forever, and verse 6 says he will be remembered forever.

Ultimately, the wicked leave no legacy except corruption and embarrassment. It's difficult to look back with pride on a life of violence and crookedness. In fact, when evil people die, those who live on are more likely to be relieved than they are to grieve. The memory of the evil one fades away and their reputation decays. Like putrefying waste, it only becomes more unpleasant over time. Those wicked people whom the world never knows fade into obscurity. Those whose evil is known are, eventually, only known for that evil.