The phrase to “finish well” no doubt means different things to different people.
Murray Smith
Our values and the criteria we use to determine what ‘success’ is, will shape whether we think we’re on a trajectory to ‘finish well’. Achieving fame, fortune or being judged by history as someone significant, means a great deal to many. For some, finishing well means ending life with a long, cushy retirement. Others would be satisfied to have ticked off a bunch of things on their bucket list. For those who believe “he who dies with the most toys wins,” finishing well means having lots of stuff. For still others, it means ending with a pain-free death.
Talk of finishing well seems empty to me without taking into account a family health check. Are our family relationships and home-life whole and healthy? It’s terribly sad how rifts remain unhealed, to be taken to the grave so often in families. Finishing well, and parenting well, go hand in hand. The often-mentioned fathering crisis in our nation perpetuates tragic downstream consequences for children, extending to successive generations.
Howard Hughes, the famous billionaire aviation pioneer, American industrialist, Hollywood movie producer and notorious womaniser, came from a wealthy background. In financial terms, he had everything anyone needed to finish well. Despite his privileged start, having the “ball at his toe,” his life nonetheless spiralled into a trainwreck. Although materially he “had it all” from childhood, his family life became increasingly dysfunctional as Hughes’ mother obsessed over fears of disease scarring him with multiple ingrained mental health hang-ups over germs and hygiene. His parents died two years apart leaving their 18-year-old son with inordinate wealth, but grievous emotional instability. His life was full of contradictions as he grew older – his daring flying exploits, genius for business and technology and Hollywood successes, saw him become America’s richest celebrity by far – a glamourous playboy yet an increasingly disturbed recluse driven by relentless idealism, incinerating his entire wardrobe if he thought germs were present – and washing his hands until they bled. In 1976 Hughes died in a darkened room, lonely and alienated.
Definitely the richest man in the cemetery, did Howard Hughes finish well? To answer that, Jesus words are relevant, “For what profit is it to a person for them to gain the whole world, yet to lose their own soul.” (Luke 9:25) For me, “finishing well,” means to be a follower of Jesus Christ to the very end of life, finishing my “assignments” and receiving His “well done, good and faithful servant,” at the end.
Finishing well. Photo: Emrah Yazıcıoğlu pexels.com
How do we finish well? From beginning to end, it’s all about God’s grace.
John Newton’s rocky start as a slave trader was redeemed through his conversion to Christianity. A life bent on hell was transformed as the words penned in his famous hymn indicate, “Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.”
When all is said and done, grace is the ultimate explanation for why any of us make it. God’s grace saves us and keeps us. How appropriate it is to pray, “Lord, give me the grace to finish well.”
