The End of the Game
A good name is better than good oil, and the day of one’s death is better than the day of one’s birth. Ecclesiastes 7:1 NASB
Day of one’s death – Qohelet (Koheleth, “the Teacher”) is an empirical pessimist. That alone made the decision to place this work within the canon quite controversial. It’s virtually impossible that the material was written by Solomon, but since that’s a traditional claim of authorship, perhaps that’s why the book was eventually included. Whatever the reason, it was certainly edited with a redeeming epilogue at the end. Most of the work is strictly a view of life from within the human arena. No God allowed. And the result is basically “eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die.” There are some exceptions to this radical empiricism. Perhaps this verse is one of them. It actually suggests that life has a purpose, that is, to die with a good reputation.
Does that seem like a kind of consolation prize? Probably for a world that now accepts the notion of an afterlife, but for the ancient Semitic world, this life is all there is, and dying with a good name meant making the most out of what we have. There are some clues in the text that support this interpretation. The first is the word for “name.” Here the word can also mean “memorial,” the “oil” specifically used in funerary rites. If this is the case, Qohelet is really saying that reputation is better than a fancy funeral. That helps us understand his second, apparently disturbing, assertion.
The day of your death is better than the day of your birth. How is that possible? Well, first, the day of your death is the end of your struggle. No more trying and trying and trying. Now you can “sleep.” Secondly, as Rashbam points out, your full reputation isn’t truly known until you die. Up to that point, you’re still in progress—and in process. Anything can happen, turning your once good name to dust. When you die, the lot is cast and if you die with a good reputation, it can’t be snatched away because of something you do later. The end ends it. Hillel makes a similar remark: “Do not trust yourself till the day of your death.”[1] While you’re still breathing, you are capable of undoing all the good you’ve done, but the moment you stop breathing, your stature is secure. That’s the right time to die.
Still, this bit of advice seems morose. Of course we want to die with a good name, but we’d rather listen to Albert King: “Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die.” Just talking about death is scary. Maybe that’s the last point in this verse. Qohelet doesn’t want us to forget about dying. He thinks life needs to be lived, and lived well, in the face of the inevitable. Why? Because only when we recognize our own temporality, our own mortality, can we really appreciate what we have at this moment. Twenty-year-olds think they are immortal because they don’t consider the long run. Then they grow old and realize how much of the awe of existence they wasted being unconsciously ignorant of their real situation. We know better, don’t we? So, why are we so afraid to live?
Topical Index: death, birth, Rashbam, Hillel, Ecclesiastes 7:1
[1] Hillel, Pirke Avot, 2:4
I like that statement by Albert King “everyone wants to go to heaven but no one wants to die“. It speaks a volume about today. Family members/friends who want and expect intimacy but don’t want to put their nickel in. Everyone wants their story “ I sat and did almost nothing and became a millionaire“. The whole “quiet quitting” mindset. I’ve been doing too much and by God I’m only going to do what I’m actually required to do and yet expecting fulfillment in life and success in business and in personal relationships?!?
Jesus said, if any man will come after me, let him take up his cross and follow me”.
The hard truth is that we cannot know resurrection without death. We certainly have lost some thing along the way. And it’s gonna cost to get it back.
Taking up your cross is your willingness to die to self. That is whether you are in the church or in the world. There are no shortcuts.
Right now one of my cousins back in Minnesota is dying from colon cancer. He is only moments away from his last breath depending upon his next shot of morphine. He’s young. He turned away from God at a young age and now he’s only left with tasting dust. The thief comes to kill, steal and destroy. One can only hope in these last moments somewhere in his being my cousin will cry out to God and of course like the thief on the cross, God is
merciful.
I remember a plaque one of my older brothers had in his room on the wall. It read, “only one life ‘twill soon be passed, only wants done for Christ will last”. That was 60 years ago or more. I’ve never forgotten it!
Think about it, One day a beautiful plant that grows and blooms and the next day it’s gone! It seems like the older I get the more quickly time passes. It’s like you can just see it slipping by. I know I sound like the writer of Ecclesiastes but I am a grateful but awake man!
Now I ask myself, shall I send this or delete it. Oh heck, just send it.
It’s not that I’m negative it’s just right now I have reality staring me in the face!