Being famous

“And when [Manasseh] prayed to Him, the Lord was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so He brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God.” 2 Chronicles 33:13
In the corresponding account in 2 Kings 21, we read only of Manasseh’s wickedness. He was the son of Hezekiah, and became king when he was 12 years old after Hezekiah died. This means that he was born during the 15 extra years Hezekiah was granted (2 Kin. 20:6).
I find it interesting that Manasseh’s wickedness is recorded in both accounts, but his repentance is only recorded in one. If we only had the record in 2 Kings, we would not know that he repented. We see a similar thing today. When famous people – politicians, movie stars, singers, sports players – become Christians, they often fade into obscurity. People only remember them for the unsaved person they used to be. It always saddens me to know that an actor is a Christian (Denzel Washington and Jim Carrey are two that come to mind) and then see them acting out rather less-than-Christian roles, with language to boot. I don’t know what the answer is. We are all to be salt and light to the world around us. When it comes to Manasseh, I can only imagine that his repentance did not have as big an effect on the nation as his wickedness did. This is a tragic legacy to leave.