When pursuing the depth of life, not the length, in April 2007, I participated in the ministry at Guangzhou University Town. The organizer arranged for us to stay in a hotel, read the newspaper in the morning, and saw that Ms. Gong Ruxin, the owner of Chinachem, known as Britney, died of illness at the age of 70. After her husband was kidnapped and disappeared, she fought the case for eight years with the public bus for a huge fortune and finally won the case in December 2005. At that time, the final judge Ren Yijun wrote a passage in the verdict that was published in the newspaper, and the Bible was published: “You have made my years as narrow as the palm of my hand. The years of my life are like nothing before you. When everyone is at their safest, it is completely illusory. The actions of the world are phantoms. They are busy, it is really in vain; Accumulate treasure and I don’t know who will collect it in the future. Psalm 39:5-6
The newspaper means that life is short, why fight for your life and my life? Billions of assets do not extend a moment of life. I am glad that mainland newspapers can publish Bible verses, even though they may not know that this passage is from the Bible. Ms. Gong Ruxin’s example proves an important truth: the quality of life lies in thickness, not length. In the eyes of people, her life expectancy is not short, “life is seventy years old”. Her career was even more developed, and she was the richest woman in Asia at that time. But looking back, there are many regrets, far from happiness.
Are a long life and a hundred years a blessing?
The Chinese people attach great importance to the length of life, regard a long life and 100 years as a great blessing, and even do not hesitate to pay for this to the point of losing their principled position and destroying their conscience. The contempt, homesickness, hypocrisy, mercenary, and selfishness of our compatriots are known to the whole world. This is true for non-believers, and Christians are affected to varying degrees. Everyone is afraid of dying young and subconsciously thinks that they can live a lot above the average life. Who knows, anything can become an idol in people’s hearts, and longevity is no exception. In fact, loving anything more than the Lord becomes an idol within us. One of them is the pursuit of longevity.
If you collapse in bed shortly after retirement and rely on the medical maintenance system to drag it to the age of 100, everyone will think that it is very unpleasant. Probably only the children of high-ranking officials want to drag on as long as they want, because people are in favor of people, and they don’t have to spend their own money. If you retire smoothly, then go to the university for the elderly, hold your grandchildren, learn photography art, and live to be 100 years old, it is undoubtedly the ideal old age for many Chinese people (including Christians).
Young people are unbridled and fashionable, middle-aged are vulgar and greedy without knowing it, and they think that they can and should live to an advanced age, and think that this is the only way to live in the moment and enjoy great blessings. There is no doubt that these are worldly values.
It is not surprising that the world thinks so, and Christians lack the wisdom to acquiesce. Even for some non-believers, if there is a special achievement in the career, then the untimely death is worth it. For example poets Wang Bo, Rimbaud, Huo Qubing, and John. Lennon, Jobs, giant businessman Wang Junyao, etc. In the saying “worth it”, means that there is a more meaningful life choice than simply longevity.
Death is the end of all
David believed that the human life span is very short from an eternal and historical point of view, not to mention early death caused by accidents, wars, diseases, homicides, etc. “O Lord, let me know the end of my life, the number of my life, and let me know that my life is not long.” Psalm 39:4
Since death is the end of all, and death may come at any time, it is not wise to ignore the objective problem of death. Because this can lead us to mistakenly think that we can live forever and lack to think deeply about the value of life, that is: Who am I? What do I live for? Why am I doing this, etc? There is also the problem of blindly pursuing the length of life (longevity) and ignoring depth, which here refers to whether it has value in eternity.
This is inconceivable, even nonsense, to the world. It is normal for them to think so, for the Scriptures say, “Then you walked in it as men, according to the customs of this world, and obeyed the rulers of the air, which are the evil spirits that now operate in the hearts of the sons of disobedience.” We used to be among them, indulging the lusts of the flesh, and doing what the flesh and the heart liked, and we were the sons of anger, just like others. Ephesians 2:2-3. The pursuit of atheists can only stay in this shore world.
The problem lies on three levels: 1. You can’t look at things from an eternal perspective. Without faith, there is no wisdom in nature. The prophet David said, “Eternal Lord, deliver me by your hand from the world, from the world that is blessed only in this life.” You fill their belly with your treasure; They were content with their children and left the rest of their possessions to their babies. As for me, I will meet your face in righteousness; When I woke up, I was satisfied to see your image. Psalm 17:14-15
2. You cannot see things from a biblical perspective. “Therefore, if you are truly raised with Christ, ask for things above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God. Mind the things above, not the things of the earth. Col. 3:1-2. It means not seeking the truth, following the environment, relying on feelings, and relying on one’s own abilities. The essence is self-centeredness, drifting away from God.
3. You can’t see yourself from the perspective of judgment. The Lord said, “Whoever rejects me and does not receive my word will judge him, and the word I preach will judge him in the last days.” John 12:48. By not believing or ignoring the ultimate judgment, man is bound to regard himself as God. The result is moral decay and human depravity. The closer we get to the end of the world, the more ugly phenomena in society emerge. It is not that there is a problem in society, society is originally a big dye vat, but that there is a big problem in the human heart.
The results are obvious to all:
1. Extremely short-sighted. Everyone will do whatever it takes for their own benefit. From tainted milk powder to expired vaccines, alarm bells ring repeatedly, but we think it’s just someone else’s conscience that is wrong. This is structural, and there is a big problem with the wholeness.
2. Exalt yourself. From top to bottom, the people boast of wealth, diplomas, and status, not to mention the children of the powerful. As a result, pompousness, arrogance, numbness to others, and bitterness toward society spread from a small group of angry young people to the entire country.
3. Hedonic carnival. Since people no longer have ideals and ambitions, this can be seen most clearly in young students. Indulgence and hedonism have become the mainstream in the field of ideology and culture, and whoever dares to raise objections will be attacked by the masses. In the age of entertainment to death, everyone seems to be pretending to laugh, but there is no peace or joy in their hearts.
Without the fear of God, there can be no true wisdom. The vision is bound to be short-sighted, and the motivation for doing things must be mixed. In this way, the extension of the length of life has no meaning other than the comfort of the family. Even if you make a great achievement, because it will eventually be forgotten by history, it will still be like a cloud dissipating. Moses the God said, “Let them go like water, and let them sleep.” In the morning they are like growing grass, in the morning they sprout and grow, in the evening they cut and dry. Psalm 90:5-6. This is also the deep-seated source of the suffering of today’s materially well-off people.
Where is the solution?
David said, “Lord, what am I waiting for now? My hope is on you… Be forgiving to me so that I can recover my strength before I go and not return. Psalm 39:7, verse 13
Look to God and commit yourself completely to the Lord’s hands. Let the Holy Spirit lead you, even if the road ahead is strange and dangerous, and follow the Lord with conviction. At the same time, examine your heart in time, and be willing to rely on the Lord to turn away from sin and live a new life in Christ. In that way, even if we do work that seems menial to others and lives only a short life, we are happy and full of gratitude.
The apostles were basically martyred and returned home, and even Jesus Christ lived only 33 years on earth. What we ask for is to walk with the Lord daily and live for the Lord for the rest of our lives, not for ourselves for a long time. The value of life is determined and given meaning by God, and depth is more important rather than length.
“Teach us how to count our days, so that we may have a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12
