I recently read and article that asked the question, "Are You Ready To Die"? The article then went on to describe that to be ready to die you need to first live your life well. I know that I have not always lived my life well but figured I was getting much better at it by now. What audacity! I still toyed around with the subject of death and dead-related things.
Americans have an odd affection with death and deathly things. I can remember the sadness and horror I felt when, as a young girl, I saw Evil Knievel fail to jump 13 cars, bounding and finally landing in a crash that resulted in being knocked unconscious, a broken arm and broken ribs. I also watched, as a young woman, the NASCAR race crash that took my favorite driver's (Dale Earnhardt Sr.) life. These two incidents left me in tears for these two men, but recently I noticed that when I hear of the death of a celebrity or person familiar to me I feel a little sad but not much more than that. What happened to the deeper sorrow I felt before?
Yes, Americans toy with death a lot in their entertainment and news, so much so in fact that we are becoming numb to even the circumstances and violence that lead to death. How do we become numb? We are "over-exposed" to such things as movies that depict violence and death such as "Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street", "Resident Evil", "Seven Pounds", and such TV shows as "The Vampire Diaries" and "Tales From the Crypt".
Here is the main thought I want to broach with you. As believers in Christ, what does the Lord want us to do with this over abuncance of guts and horror inundating us? How does our Holy God respond to such things?
"Don't let them make you filthy. You must not become unclean, because I am the Lord your God. I am holy, so you should keep yourselves holy." -Lev. 11:42-43a ERV
"And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the Lord am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine." -Lev. 20:26 ERV
"With eyes wide open to the mercies of God, I beg you, my brothers, as an act of intelligent worship, to give him your bodies, as a living sacrifice, consecrated to him and acceptable by him. Don't let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold, but let God re-mold your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity." -Rom. 12:1-2
If
we watch programs about vampires, witches, and death we allow them to stick in
our minds. Sure, we know that they are
fiction – not real – so we think it will be ok to watch them but I submit to
you that even these fictions can rob us of the holiness God is calling us
to. For example, how many of you have
watched a movie or been somewhere where the “F” word is used frequently? When you get home what do you notice? There it is sticking in your mind. It may take a day or so or some solid prayer
to get rid of it echoing in your mind.
Well, if that word can echo so can the visual violence, witchcraft, and
other evil things depicted that we watch.
Let me give you an example. I
have watched some of the Harry Potter movies.
They were very entertaining and I figured that since it is only fiction
it would not hurt to watch. Yet, to this
day I can remember some of the most violent parts of those movies and a bit of
the dialogue where they cast spells.
Does this mess up my Christian walk?
Yes. Let me ask you frankly, ‘Do
these things promote the holiness God is calling me to, yes or no?’ They do not!
These things echo in my mind when there should be room to fit other
things there, like time spent with the Lord, scripture and prayer. I have allowed the world to mold me back to
what I was like before I accepted the Lord and not moved on to the holiness He
calls me to.
“So
brace up your minds, and, as men who know what they are doing, rest the full
weight of your hopes on the grace that will be yours when Jesus Christ reveals
himself. Live as obedient children before God. Don’t let your character be
moulded by the desires of your ignorant days, but be holy in every department
of your lives, for the one who has called you is himself holy. The scripture
says: ‘Be holy, for I am holy’.” -1 Pet. 1:15-16
PHILLIPS
Do
not get me wrong, death is a very important subject to mankind but it should be
viewed in the light of the resurrection of Christ because it was He Who
triumphed over the grave and made it possible for us to triumph with Him (Col.
2:8-15).
Let
me end by sharing something I recently read: a concise, pertinent, and poignant sermon
given at a funeral by Monsignor Charles Pope:
“The
sad fact is that MOST PEOPLE ARE NOT READY TO DIE.
Living
worldly lives they hardly give a thought to God, prayer and other eternal
things. Are you prepared? That is a
common question we hear in the New Testament.
Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.
You
are going to die.
You
don’t know when.
Stay
ready.”
