Thoughts: It’s NOT about How Long We Live
‘Panjang umurnya … panjang umurnya … panjang umurnya serta mulia …’
When Indonesians celebrate birthdays, this is one of the songs they’d sing, which literally wishes the birthday person ‘a long life’.
As a Chinese, I hear such wishes often, too.
People would wish others a ‘long life’.
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So is it ‘wrong’ to hope or wish that we live a long life?
Here are some thoughts I’d like to share with you.
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Methuselah is the man believed to have lived the longest at the age of 969!
Despite his long life, only three verses in the Bible wrote about him (in Genesis 5:25-27).
Jesus lived for only 33 years, yet so much is written about Him. So much influence, so big an impact of His life on others.
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It’s NOT about how long we liveFelix Mendelssohn, the famous German composer, conductor, pianist and organist, had family members who were a banker and a philosopher.
Amongst the three, Felix Mendelssohn is the ‘poorest’ financially. However, despite his lack of ‘financial wealth’, Felix Mendelssohn is the one most remembered over the decades.
It is Felix Mendelssohn’s works that people over the past century continue to enjoy, remember and re-create.
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It’s more about realising that life is not about the amount of money we make, or the number of years we have altogetherThe point is, when we look at the countless living examples over the centuries, we can conclude that it’s NOT about ‘how long we live’.
It’s more about HOW we live our lives.
It’s not an issue of whether it is ‘wrong’ to wish for a long life.
It’s more about realising that life is not about the amount of money we make, or the number of years we have altogether.
What’s more important is whether we make any positive contribution in the lives of others, in the society, while we’re still alive.
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No one knows how ‘long’ we’d live.
At a moment’s notice, things can change.
We have to have a mindset that ‘I will live this life so it has the most impact as possible’.
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Food for thought for everyone?
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Inspired by today’s sermon, by Rev. Michael Densmoor.
