If I Died

Would you notice if I died? Would you feel bad and cry? Would you ask God why? 

We often sit back and in our hubris think we have all the time in the world. We postpone and put off yet another day of making that call, sending that text, writing that message. We think that tomorrow is guaranteed and tomorrow will be less busy than today. There was a song a while back, Friends by John Micheal Montgomery

 ” Friends

Get scattered by the wind

Tossed upon the waves

Lost for years on end

Friends

Slowly drift apart

They give away their hearts

Maybe call you

Now and then”

Isn’t this true? When we really take a good long hard look at our lives, have we really done a good job keeping up with friends? Not long ago I messaged a friend who saw my message and days later never received one back. In my opinion, and this could be just my opinion, we’ve become a society with so many distractions, so many activities, I often wonder if we spend so much time moving from one activity to another, if we’ve forgotten to truly live. 

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 NKJV

9 Two are better than one,

Because they have a good reward for their labor.

10 For if they fall, one will lift up his companion.

But woe to him who is alone when he falls,

For he has no one to help him up.

11 Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm;

But how can one be warm alone?

12 Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him.

And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

While scripture says clearly the benefit of having a friend, it also cautions to having too many, 

Proverbs 18:24 A man who has friends must himself be friendly,

But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

While this message is twofold, the first part speaks of having to rise to the call of being a friend. Too many friends can leave us in ruin, but to those whom we dabaq (Cleave) unto as a friend, can become closer than kin. Jesus is this friend to us, and knowing how Christ clings to us, is always there for us, are we showing the same respect for those in our own lives? 

Scripture is clear on multiple occasions how we must treat every day. James 4:14 “14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” Life is such a fleeting thing, and with every passing year, our society gets more and more fast paced. We have opportunities to slow down, and in the heart of the Covid-19 spread, while everything was shut down, I fear we did not heed our lesson, but instead doubled down on our foolishness, our careless ways, and now, we see brother turn against brother as blood spills in the streets. It’s interesting that in 1967 a small group named Buffalo Springfield released a song called For What It’s Worth. 

There’s somethin’ happenin’ here
But what it is ain’t exactly clear
There’s a man with a gun over there
A-tellin’ me I got to beware

I think it’s time we stop
Children, what’s that sound?
Everybody look what’s going down

There’s battle lines being drawn
And nobody’s right if everybody’s wrong
Young people speakin’ their minds
A-gettin’ so much resistance from behind

I think it’s time we stop
Hey, what’s that sound?
Everybody look what’s going down

What a field day for the heat (ooh-ooh-ooh)
A thousand people in the street (ooh-ooh-ooh)
Singin’ songs and a-carryin’ signs (ooh-ooh-ooh)
Mostly say “Hooray for our side” (ooh-ooh-ooh)

It’s time we stop
Hey, what’s that sound?
Everybody look what’s going down

Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep
It starts when you’re always afraid
You step out of line
The man come and take you away

We better stop, hey, what’s that sound?
Everybody look what’s going down

Stop, hey, what’s that sound?
Everybody look what’s going down (we better)

Stop, now, what’s that sound?
Everybody look what’s going down (we better)

Stop, children, what’s that sound?
Everybody look what’s going down

We have come to a point when we have turned on our brothers and sisters, and we set aside all rational thought, and now the other side is the enemy. With a world so violent, so turbulent, would the world miss me if I was gone? It seems history is indeed repeating itself. A world so quick to judge, so quick to determine truth while the media fans the flames of the great divide. With such division in the streets, we have failed to number our days, failed to grow in a heart of wisdom (Psalm 90:12). Christ tells us not to worry about tomorrow, thus telling us to be in the now, focus on today, be in the present. This also tells us not to let ourselves be weighed down in stress, but to give God our worries and concerns. 

When we are on our death bed, will we be looking at our loved ones and say “I wish we had time for one more errand. I wish we had time for one more school event. One more work meeting. One more _______” You fill in the blank. We are blessed in our lives to have a few people who would truly be there for us, who would give us what we need, when we need it. Are we living up to our end of being a good friend? How are we treating those who have treated us with respect and kindness throughout the years? Again, I ask, where do we place our focus? This is of course just food for thought. If 2020 has taught us anything, it should be tomorrow is never promised, so we must live for today, and make the very best of the blessings we are given day by day. Would you miss me when I’m gone, would you know it right away, or would it take you months before you found out? Something to ponder. As a whole I don’t think we are doing a very good job at being friends to one another. I don’t believe we are there when people need us. I don’t believe we give our friends even the courtesy of a reply let alone an ear to listen. Maybe I’m wrong, but wherever you fit on the spectrum, I hope we can come together and be better friends to one another.