WHEN YOU LIVE NEXT TO THE CEMETARY YOU CANNOT WEEP FOR EVERYONE (1375 hits)
Depending on what part of the world you may come from, you have rituals that you perform when someone dies in your family. In some cultures death is an elaborate event that takes a week . In some cultures, someone can be disposed of in one afternoon. afternoon. Death is a touchy subject, no one is eager to deal with issues surrounding death because of the pain emotions that it invokes. When someone is dead, that's it, if you never had a chance to get to know them like you were supposed to before they died, you will never get to know them now. Death is final, that is for this mortal lifetime that we exist in.
Growing up I really didn't think much of Christians because in my mind, I saw them as performers. I used to like giving them a hard time when they would try to witness to me. I would say things that I knew would drive them away from me, just so that they do not have to hold me down with a long hour discussion about the condition of my soul. Do you know where you will spend your eternity at? Don't even get me started on that one. My issue is not that I do not believe, my bone of contention is the motive behind the sharing of the message? What is the intention behind the preaching?
Are you really concern about me and my condition like you say you are, or do you have a separate agenda? Is this about raising money for your church, or is this about you as the choir director trying to showcase your talent. I am the type of person that likes to analyze things, because nothing happens by accident or by coincidence. Everything that happens , happens for a reason. That is why I do not have any patience for people who are quick to blame God for each and everything that happens to them. I am making up this fictional story to explain what I mean. One day God was going on about his business in heaven.
As he was going about enjoying himself, he came across the devil. The devil was crying and was very distraught. God being who He is, asked the devil why he was crying and what was making him so upset. The devil said that he was crying because he was so frustrated. This got Gods attention and being the concern person that He is, He asked the devil why he was so frustrated to the point of tears. The devil told God that it wasn't fair that, all the Christians in the church were busy blaming him for all their problems, when they really didn't need him to cause any problems for them, since they were doing it all by themselves.
At that point in God left the scene leaving the devil to figure out the solution of his dilemma by himself. I love the bible because its rich in practical applications and full of wisdom, if you read it with a grain of salt. I used to think that Jesus was one rude man, from what I read in the bible. For instance there are 2 occasions where Jesus displays where Jesus said things that were controversial even for that time. In one instance there is a wedding at Canaan, and Mary , Jesus's mother decides to ask his son for help, and Jesus says " Dear Woman, why are you involving me ? Its not my time "(John 2:1-11)
In another instance someone came to Jesus to ask him for permission to go and bury his father, who had died, and Jesus response to him was " let the dead bury their dead " (Luke 9:59-62) . Now I don't know about you, but if someone was to talk to me that way, I would have to really restrain myself from slapping the taste out of their mouth. Whether you believe in Jesus or not is not the issue. And for all of you people who get easily offended when someone freely speaks their mind, on subjects from the bible, please do not write me any nasty emails because I will not read them.
This text is not about berating Jesus, or denigrating, nor casting aspersions on any faith. To be clear, I am a christian myself, and one who is not ashamed of it either. To really understand what Jesus was telling those people, you have to understand the context in which those utterances were being made. In my opinion Jesus was not a rude person, He just didn't have any tolerance for nonsense. You have to understand that all these people who came to Jesus had excuses why they wouldn't follow him. In today's world we call them doctors notes, threats from law suits, suphoenas.
These are the things that life sends your way to make your experience that much more challenging to see what you are made of. When Jesus was really telling that person who was saying that he had to go and bury his father, was in my words " You knew what you were coming for before you got here, why are you whining? When you live next to the cemetery you cannot weep for everyone. The fact is, the person who lives next to the cemetery sees numerous funeral processions daily. When they first moved next to the cemetery, it took them a minute to get used to seeing so much pain, and tears on a daily basis.
They probably would find themselves crying daily for no reason, just because of seeing coffins and funeral processions daily. After sometime the funerals became a routine event, and the melancholy that came with the constant display of death before, soon became an acceptable rhythm of life for them. Why is this possible? In life you get to a point where you have to set your priorities straight. Just because you have a lot of problems, does not mean that you loose control. Problems are a part of life they will always call, to test your resolve. And this is not just about problems either, this is about how you choose to exploit all positive opportunities, that come your way.
Just because their is a new job opening available doesn't mean that you should just dump your job and jump ship, the grass is not always greener on the other side. If it was green, it will turn brown because it wasn't meant for you. When you live next to the cemetery you cannot weep for everyone. Some dead people are not worth weeping for. If someone was a child molester, its a good thing that he is not around to molest someones child. His death is a good thing, he is one that the world can do without. Weeping is a very draining exercises because it involves the release of liquids from your eyes.
As you weep, your body is really going through all sorts of changes to produce those tears, your whole being is under duress. Do you think its worth your time to be crying over every little thing? Don't waste your tears crying for dead people who you shouldn't be weeping for. When life moves you next to the cemetery, you will discover that you don't have to cry for every dead body that roles by your house. Oh Mary don't you weep, tell her mother not to moan.
Graham: You have an interesting and I'm sure sometimes controversial point of view. Please tell us more about funeral practices in your native land.
Thursday, May 7th 2009 at 9:04PM
Sheba Haven
BLESSINGS MY BROTHER!!! Truly it is better to read about life than death...Theirs no praise in death, theirs no life in death. I didn't read your whole blog but I hope you get your answer about what you wrote in your blog...Stay Blessed!!
Thursday, May 7th 2009 at 10:38PM
Felecia Spaulding
