By: Abonyi, Hyginus Ebuka.
Man is No-thing, he does not last forever, he lives at the mercy of others and at the mercy of God.
The novel with the title, "A Woman in her Prime", often reminds me that whatever that exists, takes time time to come into existence and at the same spot of existence, is near to out of existence. Hence, Heidegger's book, In Being and Time's assertion of man as a being-toward-death, which for him means that the authentic human existence is constantly projection of life onto the horizons of death, becomes very relevant here. Man nears death through aging. Day unto day, man's body compositions and properties get weaker and weaker, knowingly and unknowingly to man.
From this background, why should one pride anything at all in life since Psalm 48:6-12, has made it clear as thus;
"Do not be overawed when a man grows rich, when the splendor of his house increases; for no man can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for him; the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough that he should live on forever and not see decay. For all can see that wise men die; the foolish and the senseless alike perish and leave their wealth to others. Their tombs will remain their houses forever, their dwellings for endless generations, though they had named lands after themselves. But man, despite his riches, does not endure; he is like the beasts that perish".
People boast of their wealth, knowledge, Beauty, height, achievement and many things and therefore, chose to marginalize the people considered as less inferior. If you understand that life goes beyond here, it could be better you heed the words of Psalm 75:4-5 that says, “I warn you the proud, ‘Stop your boasting!’ I told the wicked, ‘Don’t raise your fists! Don’t raise your fists in defiance at the heavens or speak with such arrogance.” If you do not believe that life goes beyond here, I would advice you heed the words of Blaisé Pascal of his pascal wager's suggestion that was later reiterated by Futon J Sheen, "I believe that God exist because it is the only safest path of running away from regrets: for if at the end he exists, I have nothing to loose and if at the end, he does not exists, I have nothing also to loose but if I did not believe in him and at the end, he exists, I will fill myself with regrets".
The situation of life and it's story should be able to teach us well. You will see one who has wealth and many things, someday, will be the person begging because he has nothing anymore. One who is very beautiful can loose her beauty in an accident. One who has children can in a twinkling of eye, looses them to death. The earlier we realize that anything we have here is vanity, and use it for humanity sake, the better we prepare for ourselves a table and a house at the place of the supreme pontiff, the most high, the Lord and our savior.
LET'S TALK ABOUT DEATH
(Who does not fear to die, let him raise up his/her hand and die now?)
As old as life, so old is death. Man as the highest being, has almost conquered everything, including the world he lives except one thing that is the greatest fear to him; DEATH.
Death limits man and keep reminding him of his frailty, mortality and weak nature as a contingent being. To confirm this, the biblical statement, ...man merely a breath, reminds man that in the face of death, he is nothing. The Heideggerian school of thought in thinking death asserts, "People in general which Heidegger calls the They-do not want to talk about Death, are afraid to talk about Death. Man according to him, is a being alongside death. From our birth, our being is directed towards death.
Man is however, waterloo by death but not defeated to the extent that he cannot rise. The 6th century Pythagorean school of thoughts in their immigration of Orphic Religion, believed that death does reduce man to zero rather it is a Transmigration of the soul which serves as a punishment, if the body inhabited by soul didn't live a virtuous life. Therefore, for them to escape Transmigration (punishment after death), they map out rules to guide them. This was before the advent of Christ and Christianity. The body, occupied by the soul, needs to live a good life in order to face his greatest enemy- Death.
Plato, walking in paripasu with the Pythagoreans, gave hope to man through his teaching of the immortality of the soul. Hence, a man can be killed but cannot be annihilated. After death, the soul moves to the world of form, the perfect world's and by so doing, has victory over death. This is similar to the christian teaching about Easter and the resurrection of the dead. For Plato, man must live guided by Virtues: Prudentia (prudence), Fortitudo (courage), Temperantia (temperance) and Iustitia (justice). These four virtues are what characterized the christian teaching of Lent.
Christians are urged to have courage which is also termed forbearance, strength, endurance, and the ability to confront fear, uncertainty and intimidation. They (Christians) are urged to be temperance, which is also known as restraint, the practice of self-control, abstention, discretion, moderation and prayerful. They are to be fair and just in their dealings with fellow man. Finally, when Christians do these, let prudence which is also wisdom or sophia be their guide.
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