“Everything has a solution, except death.” When these words are spoken, they are typically used with the intention of motivating a person who is caught in a difficult challenge. This common phrase seeks to inspire its recipient into a proactive action, not allowing the panic to rise with the idea that a problem is unsolvable. Although it is with a spirit of encouragement that these words are commonly spoken, they also hold an undeniable truth that terrifies mankind. The simple truth that within this phrase it is considered to be the sole unsolvable problem for humanity, it silently expresses how afraid man truly is of death. Death, as accentuated by our chosen phrase, is unavoidable and is guaranteed to be experienced by all. It is ever present in our daily lives since everyday people die all around us. In this way, death is constantly reminding us that one day our time here under the sun will also expire. It is the purest form of teaching mankind what it means not to have prejudice or partiality since it does not discriminate race, gender, or age. Because this truth is undeniable, the question that rises then is why does man choose to ignore the frailty of life? Perhaps the answer lies in this very expression; because man has accepted death as a problem that has no solution, he then concludes that his best option is to selfishly enjoy what time he has been given. This was also the thought process of the Epicureans during Paul’s time. They defended their lack of spiritual preparedness by denying that resurrection was possible. As a result, they lived their lives with a code that boldly stated, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die” (1st Corinthians 15:32). The thought that there was no logic behind spiritual preparation, sadly, is one that is mimicked today. Even though man is terrified by the thought of death, he still chooses to ignore its reality. He does so by taking refuge in the dangerous philosophy of the Epicureans. Ironically, by living daily in the pleasures of his lust, man also begins to contradict himself. He begins to make himself believe that all men are warrantied a long, enjoyable life. Hence the danger in the Epicurean philosophy. By ignoring death’s presence in life, man also makes himself forget how frail human life truly is. In devoting his time to sinful lewdness and lust, his reality becomes obscured by this style of life and therefore becomes oblivious of how near his expiration on this earth really is. He fools himself to believe that tomorrow is guaranteed. He begins to free fall into this demonic deception that he has the power to choose how long he will be alive and how to control his future. Openly ignoring that both life and death are in the hands of the Almighty, man arrogantly professes “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit” (James 4:13). Like those who lived by the Epicurean creed, these men to whom James directs his admonishment toward were clearly unaware of death’s presence. They had fallen into the same folly presented by the Master in His parable of the foolish rich man (Luke 12:16-21). They neglected to prepare their souls for the afterlife and absurdly focused solely on material gain. Let us make note that there is no sin in being prepared with earthly possessions; the sin manifests itself when that is the only focus of man. In the parable taught by the Master, the man illustrated by Him was rich. He did not lack anything and his already rich lands produced even more for him. Up until now, this man has not committed any transgression. He was enjoying the blessings that God has bestowed upon him. The unfortunate turn of events comes when this man makes a decision regarding his blessings. He begins to plan for his future, but never once does he acknowledge God, nor does he thank God for his good fortune. Instead, this rich man falls into the trap of thinking that he would live a long life enjoying his wealth, never once saying “if the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that” (James 4:15). This man arrogantly, as James describes it, spoke rashly because he had forgotten that he was not owed life. When Christ ends this parable, he describes this man’s logic as selfish because he was “not rich toward God” (Luke 12:21). Observe how this man expected God to expand his life long enough for him to be able to destroy, rebuild, store, and finally enjoy his wealth (Luke 12:18-19). Never in his thought process did he consider preparing his soul for when he died. Death was nowhere near the plans of this man. Needless to say that death surprised this man when it arrived at his door (Luke 12:20). Because his focus was solely here on earth, he fell away from the importance of giving back to God with a grateful heart. Due to the fact that this man’s central focus was on his fleshly gain and not his spiritual one, Paul describes the severity of his situation the following way: “For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption” (Galatians 6:8). The apostle enlightens what the Master means by accusing the rich man of not being “rich toward God.” Having death always present before our eyes helps us to be grateful with God because we understand that it is He who determines when it will be time for us to leave this world. It is because of this that avoiding to accept death as a reality becomes toxic in the lives of men. It removes the edge of a fear that helps humanity to be reverent and thankful to God who gives and takes life. Notice how the words of Jesus, Paul, and James all confirm that knowing that death is inevitable does help man avoid spiraling downward into the deadly grasp of spiritual negligence. If each example mentioned would have realized how frail life truly is, they would have understood the necessity of spiritual preparation. Being rich with God means precisely that; working diligently on spiritual growth. It means to “set your minds on things above, not on the things on the earth” (Colossians 3:2). Like the proverb teaches, escaping the folly of the rich man is to acknowledge God in our everyday living and being grateful for the life He has given us (Proverbs 3:6-10). Moving away from the liberal mentality of the Epicurean is never forgetting that even death has a solution, in Christ (1st Corinthians 15:55-57). Always remembering this will help us learn not only to embrace death as the apostle Paul did, but also how to appreciate life as well (Philippians 2:21-26). Having gained this blessed knowledge from God’s inspired words, let us always remind ourselves to keep it “hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You” (Psalm 119:11). Running away from the reality of death, is also falling for the same wicked illusion that made the rich man oblivious to death.
