Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth… Matthew 6:19
How did he want to be remembered?
He knew exactly.
Not when he died…
He never thought about dying.
But ten years from now…
Fifteen years from now…
He knew how he wanted to be remembered then.
“Perception,” he said, “is reality.”
So he carefully crafted the public perception of who he was…
If he wanted his ideas and insights to be considered timeless…
He must appear timeless.
His shirts?
Always white broadcloth.
His ties?
Always striped. Not too wide. Not too narrow.
His suits?
Carefully tailored. Conservative.
Once, in the era of long side burns, he saw a picture of himself…
Long sideburns would not be fashionable forever…
What if an old picture showed him with long sideburns ten years from now and he looked hopelessly dated?
Would people think his ideas were dated, too?
He knew how he wanted to be remembered.
Then one day he started having trouble remembering things…
First little things…
Then big things…
Until finally he couldn’t even remember his name…
He disappeared from the industry where he had been a pioneer for decades.
A few years later, he died.
Not long ago, I mentioned his name to someone who works in the industry.
“Never heard of him,” came the reply.
His carefully crafted image?
Gone.
His reputation?
Gone.
Our bodies will die.
Our possessions will disappear.
Even the memories of us will vanish into the vapor of time…
All the earthly things we accumulate will evaporate…
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. Matthew 6:19
What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? Matthew 16:26
Is there nothing we can take with us when we die?
“You are an unceasing spiritual being with an eternal destiny in God’s great universe.”
~Dallas Willard, 2004 commencement address, Greenville College
It is our souls we will take with us into eternity…
And the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. Ecclesiastes 12:7
So it is our souls we must nurture…
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. John 6:35
Our souls we must protect…
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul…Matthew 10:28
Because our souls belong to God …
Behold, all souls are mine; Ezekiel 18:4
Note: This post first appeared in March, 2015
