And the day you die is better than the day you are born.
Better to spend your time at funerals than at parties.
After all, everyone dies—
so the living should take this to heart.
Sorrow is better than laughter,
for sadness has a refining influence on us.
A wise person thinks a lot about death,
while a fool thinks only about having a good time.
for sadness has a refining influence on us.
A wise person thinks a lot about death,
while a fool thinks only about having a good time.
- Ecclesiastes 7:1-4
We all try to have a good reputation but no matter what, it's not what others think of us that truly matters, but it's the way we think about ourselves and how GOD thinks of us. At the end of this life we are not accountable to anyone else but GOD. We will give account of everything we done in our lives day in and day out. And no matter what we do, it's not about the results of our work but about why we are doing what we are doing. GOD searches the motives of our hearts. We are most likely to achieve success when we do things out of pure and right motives. But with all our hard work, King Solomon says it is better to think be at funerals than to enjoy at parties because it is wise to think about our death. When we realize how short our time here on earth is, and how alll people will go to the grave one day, we will think about our loved ones more and make better decisions. So that one day when we die, we will not regret spending most of our time just making money and doing useless things, things that only affect the temporary but no effect on the eternal.
It is even better to be sad than to be happy because sorrow refines our hearts. Happiness can last for only a short time while joy is a permanent value that is independent of the circumstance going on around them. We have joy when we know and truly understand that GOD loves us and we love HIM. Joy is beyond emotions, it is deeper and more than just temporary. Even joy surpasses death. When we think about death, we understand that our time is short. The body passes and the Spirit remain. We will review our lives, what have we done in our lives that has an eternal effect? Have we invested our time on Spiritual things? What have we done that have affected other people spirtually? What are we doing to please GOD? Death is scary for most people, they don't want to even think about it, but denying it doesn't mean it's not real. It's a fact that we will have to face one day. If you don't know GOD, it's natural to be afraid of death. But if you know The One who promised eternal life, then you will not be afraid of death, you will even have joy on your dying die day, excited to meet your Maker. Do you have this kind of joy? You can decide right now to have this kind of joy today. Let us be wise with what we do with our short time.
