We all have seen, or been part of a system that was slowly dying. Signs of life were present but the continual sounds of the death angel seemed to always be just below the surface. For health to return a deep change is needed and without the change, the slow movement towards death continues. There were the faint gasps for breath like those heard at the bedside of the dying, but the low throaty rattle was evidence that life would soon depart.
These circumstances are difficult to accept when there is a vested interest. A church split; the divorce of two who promised until death – not realizing that death may come to the union before it came to the individuals; a close friend who walked away after years of sharing confidence and memories, brings deep pangs of remorse. The deeper the investment, the more costly the pain to those involved. Some may have watched the signs developing, but they felt helpless to change what seemed to be the inevitable approach of death.
It happens to the individual as well as an organization. You may have met a few people who were unresponsive in life – there was no joy, laughter, or change and they acted as if they had died. In such cases my mind jumps to the words of a speaker I once heard. He described these folks as someone who had died at age thirty and were not buried until age seventy five. How sad! It is even sadder because it is a senseless circumstance.
Life is God’s program for His creation. The Lord stated that He came to give us life, and in the giving life, to make it more abundant than imagined. He is not interested in a slow death; the process of dying - a having died at age thirty but not buried until age seventy five. God is involved in giving you abundance of life right now. He wants your church, your marriage, your friendships; everything you are involved with, to be full of life. In fact His description is an abundant life.
As a minister of the most High God I struggle to find signs of an impending slow death march. Are there indications that can be identified early – before the death rattle or the final gasps for air? It may not always be obvious to the one directly involved but since we can comprehend what I am speaking about by remembering a situation from our past, then it would follow that this death process is observable. We may have difficulty clarifying it, but one thing is for certain, we know when we see it in others.
How many times have we gone out with a couple, or visited with them in their home, only to walk away and know that something is not healthy with them? A visit to a church on vacation and we instinctively know that there are deep destructive problems just below the surface; even though no one said a thing about them. Or, you walk in a store and immediately know that it cannot remain open after the holidays. It is not written on a sign but you instinctively just know; there is a slow death going on here.
Allow me a moment to share some things I have learned about such circumstances. My thoughts will not be profound but hopefully they will be helpful in finding and dealing with the issues that result in sickness and ultimately death. First, it is common for people to prefer a slow death to the alternative. It is called such things as, not rocking the boat; keeping the status quo; or maintaining an even keel.
Second, there is a betrayal of responsibility. Someone has abdicated their responsibility to recognize the evidence of impending death and make needed changes. This process is like the person who is given a pack of cigarettes with the warning that it may cause cancer. They ignore the warning and begin a relationship of smoking. When the cancer is finally diagnosed the sick person wants to sue the tobacco company.
Please understand the importance of personal accountability. At some point the dying patient must take full responsibility for their own lack of actions to change their behavior that leads to death. It is an act of absolute denial to place the blame anywhere other than where it rightly goes; the individual. The individual is the one responsible for the health and safety of their own body.
But, we all tend to play the blame game. Rarely does a church member agree that the pastor lost his child because of the way the church family treated the PK while growing up. The church wants to blame it on the dereliction of the pastor; even though he was absent from his family; tending to a family in the church with their need of salvaging their own misguided children.
Third, people tend to realize when a critical issue is being ignored. This act is rarely accomplished in a vacuum. The result is a loss of hope or becoming occupied with busy work to keep from having to pay attention to the areas of sickness. It is like the proverbial ostrich with its head in the sand. If they are busy with something else maybe this issue will go away. The reality is that matters usually become more critical and the rattle is heard and the march of the death angel continues. Like sand in the hour glass; it continually flows and everyone knows there will come the moment for the last grain to drop. Time has ended and no one has done anything to refurbish the needed sand.
Is there something in your life that you are ignoring? Are you finding yourself continually more busy than necessary; knowing that the true reason is to ignore life’s problem? Are you running out of time and desperately need more sand?
Let me encourage you to not step into the belief of not rocking the boat. There are times that the boat needs to be rocked. In fact there are a few times that the Disciples of Jesus would have missed significant encounters with their Lord had they not allowed their boat to be tossed on the sea. In fact, one Disciple would never have experienced walking on the water had he not been in the storm.
If you do not face your fear and storm in life, you are choosing to slowly die.
Another warning would be to not walk away from the circumstance – do not put your head in the sand or run from the death rattle. If you have not practiced preventative medicine in life do not panic and run. I have heard it said that where ever you go; there you are. In other words, your problems follow. If you are slowly dying, the death angle knows your location even if you move. Why not turn and stand? Take control and face the needed surgery. Make a change in your lifestyle and change where you are and what you are doing right now.
Are you desperate enough to seek help? One author wrote that, “Slow death is the devil we know, so we prefer it to the devil we do not know… We would rather experience the pain of slow death than the threat of changing ourself. [sic]” Does this describe you? I hope not, but if it does seek help. Just like Bob Wylie in the movie, What About Bob, learn to take some baby steps. Make a change even if it is a baby step from the desk of your life to the door.
Take a step and begin the walk back to health. Take charge of your life and begin living again – maybe even for the first time. Do not let it be said about you that you died at thirty and were buried at seventy five. Step forward and live!
