Finishing Well

This is a short review of the lives of three men who members of the same family; a grandfather (Abijah), a father (Asa) and a grandson (Jehoshaphat); all of whom were Kings of Judah, the Southern Kingdom of Israel. In fact they each ruled over Judah in succession. Each enhanced the spiritual and secular fortunes of Judah while they reigned and received the accolades of the writers of Jewish history as recorded in 2 Chronicles Chapters 13 through 19 of the Bible. And yet in spite of all they accomplished, their last years stand in stark contrast to all of their former years. In short, none of them, except the grandfather, finished well at all. As humans we each are endowed with an inner drive to do well, to make our lives count, to become men and women of renown, to somehow make the world the world a better place for our having trod its surface and lived among its numerous inhabitants. We want to leave a mark; to be remembered, preferably for something grand, glorious and greater than ourselves; whether it's a problem solved, an invention, a book or a play, a captivating painting or sculpture, a moving song composed or sung, an empire built or a reputation gained, we want those attending our funeral to be inspired by our creativity, our perseverance, our dedication, our ingenuity, as well as our character; something that our individual contribution testifies to our awesomeness long after we are gone. How we go about making that mark goes a long way toward establishing what will be said of us. Many will be remembered for actions related to a specific event, while the vast majority will make their mark as result of the reputation they acquired through a multitude of decisions and actions taken over an entire life time. Others will make their mark through decades of selfless devotion to the betterment of others, and whose memory is firmly etched in the lives of those they may have only touched once, but touched deeply. How do we ensure that that our last days do not wipe out the memory of all the good we have accomplished in our previous days. What can we do now to ensure that our private lives match our public persona. This book looks at some of those habit patterns that will help establish one that fully supports the other.