2 Chronicles 24:25
“And when they were departed from him, (for they left him in great diseases,) his own servants conspired against him for the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest, and slew him on his bed, and he died: and they buried him in the city of David, but they buried him not in the sepulchres of the kings.”
Anyone who has ever played sports understands the importance of following through. In golf, you are always taught to follow through with your swing. Not following through correctly with your swing will affect the direction of the ball. When throwing a ball, whether it is a baseball or football, your follow-through dictates the accuracy of the throw. In every sport, the player’s follow-through determines the quality of that player.
Likewise, just like follow-through is important to the athlete, follow-through in the Christian life is also important. Joash had an excellent beginning, but he didn’t follow through, which resulted in a bad ending. He started out right by following the priest, destroying the wicked Athaliah, repairing the temple, and rededicating the temple instruments. Sadly, he didn’t follow through, for when Jehoiada the priest died, Joash turned from following the LORD to living a wicked life. His follow-through revealed the major spiritual cracks in his life. There are three valuable lessons that every Christian should learn from the life of Joash about following through.
First, just because you started well doesn’t mean you will end well. Throughout my life, I have watched many people who started out looking like they would do something great for God only to see them change course and end the spiritual life on the wrong foot. It is important to start right in the Christian life, but just because you started right doesn’t guarantee you will always do right. The effectiveness of the Christian life is determined by how you live every day. Just because you did well yesterday doesn’t mean you will do well today. You have to commit daily to do right.
Second, starting right doesn’t justify ending wrong. Joash made the mistake that many Christians make in that he thought he could do whatever he wanted because of his beginning. God never excuses your wrong because you started right. Your history of how you started is irrelevant to how you perform today. You must follow through by living right today if you want yesterday’s actions to continue to make an impact in your life today. It is important to start out right, but you must follow through by ending right.
Third, your follow-through reveals the accuracy of your heart. The end of Joash’s life revealed his true heart. He didn’t do right because it was in his heart; he did right because of Jehoiada the priest. Your follow-through at the end of life reveals why you did what you did in the beginning. If you don’t follow through with doing right at the end of your life, it will often desecrate the works you did at the beginning of your life. Your follow-through, whether good or bad, will validate your beginning works to those whom you’ve influenced.
Friend, let me encourage you never to stop doing right. Don’t let your end invalidate the good works you did at the beginning. A bad ending does not change what you did at the beginning, but it will destroy your intentions in the minds of those who followed you. Don’t just start right, but follow-through by ending right.