A Sad Testament

I was doing my daily devotional reading today when I came across the following passage. "He (Jehoram) was thirty-two years old when he became king. He reigned in Jerusalem eight years and, to no one's sorrow, departed" (2 Chronicles 21:20).

The books of 1 & 2 Kings and 1 & 2 Chronicles are filled with lots of examples of bad kings and poor leadership. And as one reads through them cannot help but feel sad by how many of the kings led their nation and people astray. But this one has to be up there with the all time worst.

Think about this - for the rest of eternity, Jehoram's leadership is tied to this phrase, "He reigned in Jerusalem and, to no one's sorrow, departed." There were other notoriously bad kings in Judah and Israel, but no one else has this written about them. How could a person die to no one's sorrow?

This made me think about my life. Am I living a life that is impacting the lives of other people for the good? Am I living in such a way to add value to the lives around me?

I think this is a worthy question for all of us to ask. If God placed us here on earth at this time, in our particular context, with the people in our lives, it must be because God wants us to impact their lives for good. It must because God can add value to their lives as we live for Christ.

So is that what we are doing with our lives? Are we adding value to those around us?

Or is life all about what's in it for me?

May it never be said of you and me, and James (and you place your name here) lived for "x" number of years and to no one's sorrow, he died.