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By Dean Kelly

One of the most evil kings of the kingdom of Judah, after it divided from Israel, was Jehoram. He was married to the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel who led him into evil. When he became king, he killed all six of his brothers. He was totally given to idolatry. 

Despite his evil, one passage still makes me sad when I read it, “He was thirty-two years old when he became king. He reigned in Jerusalem eight years and, to no one’s sorrow, departed. However, they buried him in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings” (2 Chronicles 21:20). He died, and no one cared. No one mourned him, and they did not even bury him among the kings. It seems that the people of Judah, figuratively, said, “Good riddance”. 

Do you ever wonder if, when you die, there will be anyone who cares? The attitude of the people toward Jehoram was based on his own actions and evil. What kind of legacy are we leaving? It comes down to how you are living your life, and how you are treating others.

For example, are you the type of person that when you enter the room the room seems a little brighter, or is it when you enter a room a cloud of darkness descends on everyone? When you converse with someone do you lift their spirits by kindness and good words so that they walk away feeling better than when you spoke to them? Or do your words come with negativity toward the person or do you air out someone else’s dirty laundry, so that the one to whom you are speaking walks away with a new darkness of heart? 

What legacy are you leaving? Will your death be to no one’s sorrow? 

We can leave behind the right kind of legacy, and have an impact on those around us, if we will walk in the steps of Jesus, coming to Him at His cross. In Him we can be assured that someone will care about us.

Dean Kelly is minister at Highland Home Church of Christ.