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Have you thought about what you’d like said at your funeral? Stick with me here, this isn’t an episode about contemplating your death. In this episode, Greg and I want to encourage you to begin with the end in mind, and live as the type of leader that you picture yourself being remembered as.
[0:15] Hang with us on this one: We’d like you to take a moment to think about your funeral.
[3:15] We could think of our own epitaph like we’re building a house.
[4:14] Greg asks me what I would like on my epitaph.
[6:00] We aren’t talking about planning our funeral, but about doing lasting and beneficial things with “the dash” between our birth date and our death date.
[9:20] There is a leadership caution when we’re thinking about this topic.
[10:21] Greg has been thinking about one word that could sum up his life.
[13:31] Here’s what we need to live for today.
[15:41] I give an example of someone whose character and reputation didn’t align.
[18:09] I brag on something special Greg does for others.
[20:54] How do leaders get beyond themselves?
[24:05] We need to be living our leadership story every single day.
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That’s the end of his life. All those years living and that’s all his obituary says: “and then he died.”
Genesis 5 is the lineage of Adam. A mind-numbing list of names and years scroll by:
Adam lived 930 years, and then he died.
His son Seth lived 912 years, and then he died.
His son Enosh lived 905 years, and then he died.
His son Kenan lived 910 years, and then he died.
His son Mahalalel lived 895 years, and then he died.
His son Jared lived 962 years, and then he died.
And on and on and on….
For each man we hear the name of one of his sons and how long he lived, but nothing more. Like a modern-day tombstone:
Birth Date─Death Date
The dash between the dates covers childhood, schooling, marriage, inventions, parenthood, and so many other things. But years later, more and more of the details are forgotten and only the dash remains to represent the sum total of the deceased’s life.
And then comes Enoch.
All of the same details are there. Well, except for the “and then he died” epitaph. But actually, there’s so much more. Instead of a death, there’s a phrase that appears only for him: “Enoch walked with God.” The phrase literally means “to be continually conversant.”
Because Enoch lived this way, he didn’t really die. Instead, “He was no more.” He wasn’t here any longer because he is still walking with God. What an incredible blessing to his future generations! He was a blessing while he was alive, and he continues to be a blessing after he is no more.
Enoch’s tombstone reads differently from everyone else. The birth date is there, the dash is there, but instead of “and then he died” we read “he was no more.”
It’s the way I would want my tombstone to read:
Craig T. Owens
1966─He walked with God─He was no more (because he is still walking with God)
In The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey suggests living my life today consistent with what I would like said at my own funeral. It starts with a decision: “Today I will be continually conversant with God.” Then at my funeral, they can say of me, like the Bible says of Enoch: “He didn’t die. He’s just not here any longer. He is walking with God in heaven, just like he walked with Him here on earth.”
What do you want said about your dash?
Do you want your life to simply end with “and then he died”? Do you want something more?
Make your dash a continual conversation, a daily walk with God, and all of your future generations won’t see just a dash, they’ll remember “He is no more. He walked with God, and he is still walking with God!”
How would you like to have this written on your tombstone—
Appointed by God to be king
Caused all Israel to sin against God
Doomed my family line to extinction
That is exactly the epitaph of King Jeroboam (see 1 Kings 13-14). In God’s indictment of Jeroboam He says, “Because of the sins you have committed, and the sins you have caused Israel to commit, you have provoked Me to anger and thrust Me behind your back.”
I find that phrase—thrust Me behind your back—intriguing. The word thrust means to throw something away. How exactly does one go about throwing God away? Can you crumple Him up like a piece of paper and toss Him in a garbage can? Can you grab Him and shove Him behind you? Is He like a stack of old newspapers thrown in a recycling bin? Clearly not!
One only thrusts God behind one’s back little by little. Just moderate back thrusts.
John Maxwell was exactly right when he said that whatever good things a leader does in excess, those following will do in moderation. Whatever poor things the leader does in moderation, those following will do in excess. The “moderate” ways in which Jeroboam thrust God behind his back caused all of Israel to sin excessively. And that became Jeroboam’s eternal legacy!
People are watching me—my kids, my neighbors, my friends, the baristas at Starbucks—what example am I setting for them? There are only two examples I can set: (1) Pursue God with all my heart, all my soul, all my mind, and all my strength; in other words, love God to excess. Or (2) Moderately thrust God behind my back little by little by little.
Search me, O God, see if there is ANY moderate back thrusting in me and lead me in the way everlasting (see Psalm 139:23-24).
Have you thought about what you’d like said at your funeral? Stick with me here, this isn’t an episode about contemplating your death. In this episode, Greg and I want to encourage you to begin with the end in mind, and live as the type of leader that you picture yourself being remembered as.
Craig T. Owens 