Death, The Value in Life

“Treat death not with contempt, for in it the value of living becomes priceless.” — Kelechi C. Oji

Life is a journey. A journey of birth, happiness, laughter, pain, tears, joy, and ultimately death. Life is hard and always will be, at least for those wishing to find meaning in it and make it worth living. Nothing in life comes easy, not even the child from the womb during birth or the dirt dug out during the funeral. Life is like a business deal. To get anything valuable out of it, you must be willing to pay the price, whatever it entails.

To become a valuable citizen in the community, you must add value to society or at least to your family. How do you go about adding value? Let us say you need a decent-paying job to be of value to yourself, your family, or society at large. To get the job, you need a skill. Where does one go to learn skills? A university or some kind of college. How do you enroll in a conventional university or college? You need to write the SAT or some form of entrance examination. Before that, you need to go through high school. How does one get into high school? You need to go through elementary school, and someone has to make that decision for you. That is the role of a guardian or parent who understands the value of education.

My point is this: to get a well-deserving job, look at the years of commitment and striving one must go through without the certainty of the expected outcome.

Life is hard, but it is worth living. How can one navigate through life’s hardships and make meaning out of it? The greatest search in life is meaning. Why am I here? What is my purpose on earth?

The meaning and purpose of life are not questions we ask life. They are questions life asks us. Hence, we must find the answers to these daring questions. Picture life as a blank canvas, and we are the artists. The blank canvas presents a question: what will you draw on me that will be worth viewing, celebrating, or sharing? As an artist, you first need an idea, a concrete and feasible idea. Then you must ensure you have the tools to manifest such an idea. More importantly, you do not have all day. You must be done with your work as quickly as you can.

Here you have it: 

You need an idea. 

You need the tools necessary to manifest the idea. 

You have limited time and a very impatient audience waiting to see your artwork.

Let us delve deeper. Think of the greatest possible outcome of your life. How do we do that? First, we must ensure the idea is feasible, so you better not think of Spiderman. Next, it must be great. It must not be a walk in the park. It has to be something that scares you, something you are not but can become. In becoming it, there must be a positive consequence.

For example, an obese person hopes to lose weight. They currently weigh 180 kg and want to get to 110 kg. That requires a lot of dedication, but in the end, they will be healthier, look better, and live better. So write down the greatest possible outcome your life can have.

Now you have the idea. What do you have to fulfill such an idea, and what do you need but do not yet possess? An artist with a great idea cannot manifest it without the right brushes and paint. If the tools are lacking, it is best to seek them out.

Assume you are reading this article and hope to be the president of your country one day. First, you need to understand land laws, economics, socio-political structures, public speaking, and communication skills. If you lack the right tools, you may become president, but a bad one. Just as an artwork drawn with improper tools cannot stand beside the same artwork drawn with the finest tools. Do you have the required tools for your grand idea?

Finally, time. What a strange concept it is. General to all of us, yet unique to each of us. Regardless of how time varies, we all experience it individually from birth to death. Death is the reminder that we have limited time. Standing before the canvas of life, death is the clock reminding us that we must not only find meaning, but find it quickly.

Death is like an exam supervisor. Once time is up, your paper is taken whether you are done or not. Yes, we need to develop a great idea and seek the tools to manifest it, but most importantly, we must do all this within time, our lifetime.

Life is unfair. Not all will grow old and strong. Some will grow old but not strong. Many goals and ideas can still be achieved before death comes knocking. The point is this: we do not have time. The audience is waiting to see your artwork.

Hurry up. Conceptualize the great idea if you already have one. Find the tools to manifest it. If you have the tools, then start painting. Many do not know when death will come. Some early, some late. It is wise to assume you are among the former, but that creates pressure. It is also dangerous to assume you are among the latter, because death may approach like an exam supervisor asking you to submit your paper.

Only by wisdom, which comes from God, will we know how to live in the face of death. Only by His mercy can we say to death, “not today.” More importantly, with strength and courage gathered through life, we can say, “into Your hands, O God, I commit my spirit.”