You guys, line up alphabetically by height.” Huh? “We’re going to turn this team around 360 degrees.” What?
These are two of many other bizarre quotes I came across recently.
Solomon said some pretty odd and outlandish things too. For instance, he wrote: “The day you die is better than the day you are born” (Ecclesiastes 7:1). “Better to spend your time at funerals than at parties” (Ecclesiastes 7:2). “Sorrow is better than laughter” (Ecclesiastes 7:3). “A wise person thinks a lot about death” (Ecclesiastes 7:4). Whoa! Was Solomon some kind of somber-negativistic-suicidal- pessimist-with-a-death-wish dude?
As a Chinese man, it was ingrained in me that it’s totally inauspicious to talk or even think about death when you’re still living. But “everyone dies.” Death is not an if but a when. “So the living should take this to heart” (Ecclesiastes 7:2). Solomon advised us to look death in the face, and then live with our end in mind.
Every time I visit a funeral home to comfort the grieving, I’m reminded once again of how short human life is. It doesn’t matter if the deceased was a 20- or an 80-year-old person. A life expired. And Solomon encourages reflection on life’s brevity instead of pursuing festivity or levity, “for sadness has a refining influence on us” (Ecclesiastes 7:3). This is why it’s “better to spend your time at funerals than at parties” (Ecclesiastes 7:2).
It’s in the face of death that we make serious and true evaluation of the way our lives have been lived and how differently we want to spend our hours today. Yes, “a wise person . . . thinks a lot about death” (Ecclesiastes 7:4). It’s the wise who learn from the brevity of life—in the light of the reality and inevitability of death. We lift our eyes from the physical to the spiritual and from the temporal to the eternal.
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Acts 21:1-17
More:
What did Jesus say about dying and living in John 12:24-26?
Next:
Where do your thoughts go when you think or talk about dying and death? How has thinking or talking about death defined or refined life for you?
roxanne robbins on November 9, 2011 at 2:49 am
Thank you for this post, K.T. Death is a hard topic to approach, but as you supported with Scripture, is important for us to discuss . I’ve thought much more about dying since moving to Uganda where the average life expectancy is 42 years old. As a result, my perspectives and life goals have changed dramatically. I have more respect for each day that God gives us now and for the work that He graciously permits us to be part of.
marvin williams on November 9, 2011 at 5:56 am
K.T., this is one of my favorite scriptures, for the very reason you wrote this devo – reflection. One of the disciplines of the heart that is so easy to overlook is serious reflection and life evaluation. Thanks for reminding us that it really is, in the larger scheme of things, better to go to a funeral than a party.
poh fang chia on November 9, 2011 at 9:18 am
I’m watching a drama about a female editor loosing her mind to Alzheimer. Slowly but surely, she begins to lose her vocabulary and memory. It’s scary. It dawn on me that I have much to be thankful for. To be able to work, write, read, . . . and every day is precious.
winn collier on November 9, 2011 at 4:22 pm
Eugene Peterson says that one of his tasks as a pastor was to prepare people to die a good death.
Don’t you think that in teaching people to die well, we’re teaching them to live well?
daisymarygoldr on November 9, 2011 at 6:48 pm
As a six month-old I was almost given up for dead. And growing up in the midst of dire poverty and disease, death is no stranger to me. Sadness—has a refining influence because we come face-to-face with the stark reality of life.
As a follower of Christ, thoughts of death awaken me to the Kingdom perspective. To think a lot about death is to be constantly conscious of my own limited time that God has stipulated for me.
The impending thought of death is not a scary sword of Damocles hanging over my head. To me, it is a reminder of the deadline—to complete my heavenly assignment.
Knowing that my days are numbered forces me to prioritize life properly and use the given amount of time wisely. When I stare death in the eye, it is a sobering moment that makes me aware of the need to stay focused on the goal, keep my faith, complete the course and reach the finish line.
“Finishing is better than starting” (Ecclesiastes 7:8).
joo_sg on November 9, 2011 at 8:00 pm
Yeah, selected verse for my epitaph already (2 Tim 1: 12). It helps me live my life in perspective.
Also told my husband next time I want my coffin covered – my friends and loved ones would remember me in my best! 🙂
OnMyWayHome on November 10, 2011 at 1:56 pm
A lot to think about
Is our society one that looks for enjoyment and pleasure to occupy their time?
In so doing they avoid thinking of death and judgment, while I was in the Marines years ago that’s what so many thought of most of the time.
Solomons wisdom was and is wise.