01 February 2011

Why is death so difficult?

I know the title of the post probably prompts a few people to scoff, "DUH! Because death sucks!" in slightly better terms. I guess I should preface that I know death sucks, but I am one of those rare, weird people that wants to work for Hospice and deal with death regularly. I think that in itself is a calling and does not make me better or worse than you, just called to a specific area you are not.

That said, I've cried a lot over the past weekend because people in my church - people I don't even know other than faces - lost their 16 year old son this weekend. I've cried because that is what we do as humans and as Christians -- we grieve with those who grieve, and we try to bear one another's burdens. I cry because the pain of death is so great that it MUST be shared even if the mourners themselves are unaware of its spreading.

So WHY does death suck? If we are simply an evolutionary product, why wouldn't our coping mechanisms for a natural occurrence evolve so we wouldn't get sucked into a black hole when we lose someone? And coming at that from a non-evolutionary, spiritual perspective, why do we grieve so terribly when we have the hope that God is in control?

The answer, to me, is that death was never part of the original plan. Way back in Genesis, God created this beautiful garden and it had two trees in the middle, one of which was the Tree of Life and the other the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. God told Adam & Eve that they were free to eat of any tree except that second one. He mentioned ONLY that second one by name and told them to eat of the rest. Which means, of course, that they could eat freely from the Tree of Life.

I often wonder what that fruit was like. Was it sweet? Did it make you tingle when you tasted it? Did you get a burst of energy from it? Or did it taste sorta vitaminy, in a good way, like organic stuff from the natural foods store? Was it soft or crunchy? Did it have a rind like an orange or a peel like a pear?

Anyway, mankind screwed up and disobeyed and then an animal died so they could be covered with fur. The first non-plant-cycle death happened as a result of that sin, and we've been dealing with death ever since. And I think there's a trace of us that longs for our original, sinless, non-dying state. There's a part of us that knows we weren't supposed to lose one another or to be lost ourselves and that part is desperately longing for things to be righted. That part of us - the little tiny iota of us that retains our original being - knows the incredible wrongness of death to our very nature.

Those are just very random thoughts jumbled up. I know there's a lot more to the issue, but I think that's the heart of it.

3 comments:

Chris Angelico said...

Ohai! We can haz hypocrisy again. :)

As you say, death is fundamentally _wrong_. It's not "a part of life", nor is it something that "just happens" (although, with a very few exceptions, it does "happen to everyone").

I hope it's not that God's warning me of the impending death of someone close to me, but _two_ posts on this subject have come to my attention today. The other's here, you might find it of interest: http://www.thisistrue.com/blog-psychic_pay.html

There are quite a few things that, to us as humans, are inexplicable fundamentals. Why should two plus two make four? Why not three, or five, or seven, or 25? And why is it that we respect and admire someone who gives his time away for nothing? Isn't that rather stupid in a capitalistic society, and isn't capitalism the ultimate form of society? Why is it so infinitely satisfying to find patterns, to create order - when, after all, the laws of thermodynamics prove that the universe is getting less and less orderly?

I believe that all these fundamentals come from the One Who made this world, made it orderly, and set certain rules in place. Regardless of the century, world, or society, developing humans will never fail to come across these concepts. The internet somehow managed to embrace some of them more than the rest of society has, and we now have something of a world that's run on Biblical principles - and whenever anyone tries to interfere with its structures, the whole community reacts to preserve it. Now, we only need to project those concepts into the rest of society and God's ways will become once again the true governance of people's thinking!

Robert Hagedorn said...

But what IS the tree of knowledge of good and evil? Do a search: The First Scandal.

Michael Angelico said...

I read the snippet on my phone at work and thought "I know exactly what I'm going to post when I get home!" - then I read the whole thing and you've stolen all my thunder. I guess that's what sisters are for.

And then the Rosuav has stolen the rest. I guess that's what brothers are for.

So here I am posting nothing. You're welcome.