A time capsule was sealed up Monday at Natchez City Hall not to be opened for 98 years.

The time capsule is part of the Natchez Tricentennial and will not be opened until the city celebrates its 400th birthday.

Inside the time capsule are mementos of our current way of life, including a tricentennial commemorative Coca-Cola bottle, a Natchez Brewing Company Bottle, T-shirts, banners, ornaments and a letter from Natchez Mayor Darryl Grennell and former Mayor Butch Brown.

The letter is addressed to the Natchez citizens of the future.

Such an event makes us think about what life might be like in Natchez 98 years in the future.

Perhaps Grennell said it best, “I pray that in 100 years from now — slightly less — when they celebrate 400 years of Natchez, I hope they enjoy what we enjoyed here.”

Beyond that sentiment and the items in the time capsule, however, what will those future inhabitants think of the world we helped shape for them?

The world they inherit will be based in part on the foundations we are laying today.

Every decision we make has irrevocable consequences, good or bad, that have the potential to forever change people’s lives and set the course for the future that will result in the city they inhabit 98 years from now.

We hope the world they inherit will be at least as good as the world we enjoy today, but we really hope it will be even better.

Never let us forget our role as citizens, not only of Natchez, but also of the United States and planet Earth to be good caretakers, and let us endeavor to make the right choices along the way to result in the best possible future for those inhabitants who in 98 years will open that time capsule.

Hopefully, they will be proud of the world we helped build for them.