HOW DO YOU WANT TO BE REMEMBERED?

By Terry Loving

“And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.”

This post is Part 2 of The Passion of Violence.

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No matter how evil a person was when they died, their eulogy never speaks of the awful things they have done in life. The funeral brochures will list their education and employment history – family members and the loved ones left behind. Some families may include something good they have done in order to cover over their hurtful deeds. When there isn’t much to say about a person, the brochure may be filled with pictures of the deceased. In either case, no one wants to remember the bad things that were done, but those who have been victimized will always remember.

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Most times, the preacher delivering the eulogy doesn’t know the deceased personally. Therefore, some generic sermon will be given to the bereaved as a way of easing their pain. Rarely will you hear a preacher reminding the living that one day we who are alive will pass that way – die – and stand to face our Creator and Savior Jesus Christ. Even rarer, the living is not admonished to get their spiritual house in order before it is too late.

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From personal experience, when I think of all the abusers I have known in life – I picture their violent deeds, not any good they have done. Fact is – I don’t remember ANY good they have done in life. All I see is their fists punching, hands slapping, feet stomping and hear echoes of their ugly vicious words. They may have done some good things in life – but their violence towards women – especially my mother – overshadows any decent acts they may have left behind.

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Think about this – when you hear the name Jeffery Lionel Dahmer, what comes to mind – any good? No! He will always be remembered as “…the Milwaukee Cannibal, an American serial killer and sex offender, who committed the rape, murder, and dismemberment of seventeen men and boys.”

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Jovan Belcher will always be remembered as the man who “killed his girlfriend and committed suicide in front of his coach and general manager.” There may be some good things said about him having played as a linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs – but he will first be remembered as the man who made his infant daughter an orphan.

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Contrarily, Mother Teresa was a missionary who cared deeply for the poor and spread the love of Christ. Her unselfish love for humanity will be remembered for the good and missed.

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In light of the anger and hatred escalating in our world – especially in America – I wanted to write something that would make people stop and think – hopefully. Anger is such a vast topic that only addressing angry men would have excluded many others – angry women, children, Christians, non-Christians – and people who don’t really know why they are angry. The Bible admonishes Christians to “be angry and sin not.” Therefore, there are situations in life where anger is acceptable in order to bring about change, or right an injustice. We should be angry about child abuse, spousal abuse, exploiting the poor, abuses of any kind that harms people and defenseless creatures.

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“Anger” is a passion too common to need any description. It is an excitement or agitation of mind, of more or less violence, produced by the reception of a real or supposed injury, and attended commonly with a desire or purpose of revenge. The desire of revenge, however, is not essential to the existence of the passion, though it is probably always attended with a disposition to express displeasure, to chide, rebuke, or punish; compare Mark 3:5.

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 Everywhere you turn today people are angry about something. The sad thing is – much of the anger that produces hurt to others is unjustified. In America, the recent presidential election stirred up anger and resentment, produced by the reception of a real or supposed injury. This passionate anger – excitement and agitation of mind – promotes a desire or purpose of revenge – towards innocent souls that have not instigated or caused any harm to others. To this I say, many people are searching for and have found an excuse to unleash unbridled anger upon those who do not look like them – or share their views.

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 Too many angry people have unresolved issues of pain that grew into anger. They were sinned against as children and grew up to be angry adults. In this case, it doesn’t take much to be angry about any and everything one finds displeasing – I know – I used to be an angry person. This is a topic for another time. However, I just wanted to mention that numerous souls are in need of an honest heart to heart with themselves. Some of you are angry at your father, but take it out on your spouse. We will look at this more in another post – back to my thoughts.

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The supposed injury that is unleashing pain upon unsuspecting victims was birthed in ignorance. But this passionate anger is nothing new – many of us have witnessed it long ago. Racism, sexism, classism and the like are nothing new. “That which has been is that which will be, And that which has been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun.”  “Is there anything of which one might say, “See this, it is new “? Already it has existed for ages Which were before us.” Ecclesiastes 1:10

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The injustice in this world is only new to those who are born in a time where they have not personally witnessed its evil.

“1:9-11 Men’s hearts and their corruptions are the same now as in former times; their desires, and pursuits, and complaints, still the same. This should take us from expecting happiness in the creature, and quicken us to seek eternal blessings. How many things and persons in Solomon’s day were thought very great, yet there is no remembrance of them now!” Matthew Henry Commentary

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“nothing new I see, nothing new I do.” Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

“This will likewise hold good in moral things; the same vices and virtues are now as ever, and ever were as they are; men in every age were born in sin, and were transgressors from the womb; from their infancy corrupt, and in all the stages of life; there were the same luxury and intemperance, and unnatural lusts, rapine and violence, in the days of Noah and Lot, as now; in Sodom and Gomorrah, and in the old world, as in the present age; and there were some few then, as now, that were men of sobriety, honesty, truth, and righteousness.”

In light of the above, I now ask this question – “How do you want to be remembered?”

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 Will you be remembered as a person of change? A person who understands the futility of unbridled anger? A person who was/is brave enough to heal childhood wounds? A person who stood up to bigotry and hate? Will you be remembered for your violence against women, or others who do not look like you? Will you be remembered as one dying in torture upon his death bed? I know of such a person.

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What will people remember about you when they look at your body in your coffin? Will loved ones and friends squirm in their seats at your funeral when your eulogy filled with fluffed information is read? Will they imagine a different you than the one falsely portrayed by a minister who knew not the real you?

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When I read this news article I cried. I was so moved by the humble acts of repentance and forgiveness – I could feel the pain on both sides.

Leonard Crow Dog, a Lakota elder and highly-regarded activist, left, places his hand over Wesley Clark Jr.’s head during a forgiveness ceremony for veterans at the Four Prairie Knights Casino & Resort on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation on Monday.

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“Wes Clark Jr., the son of retired U.S. Army general and former supreme commander at NATO Wesley Clark Sr., was part of a group of veterans at Standing Rock one day after the Army Corps announcement. The veterans joined Native American tribal elders in a ceremony celebrating the Dakota Access Pipeline easement denial.”

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Clark got into formation by rank, with his veterans, and knelt before the elders asking for their forgiveness for the long brutal history between the United States and Native Americans:

“Many of us, me particularly, are from the units that have hurt you over the many years. We came. We fought you. We took your land. We signed treaties that we broke. We stole minerals from your sacred hills. We blasted the faces of our presidents onto your sacred mountain. When we took still more land and then we took your children and then we tried to make your language and we tried to eliminate your language that God gave you, and the Creator gave you. We didn’t respect you, we polluted your Earth, we’ve hurt you in so many ways but we’ve come to say that we are sorry. We are at your service and we beg for your forgiveness.”

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Chief Leonard Crow Dog offered forgiveness and urged for world peace: “We do not own the land, the land owns us.”

Despite the positive news, there is more work to do. “The black snake has never stopped and if they didn’t stop at desecrating our graves of our ancestors, they’ll stop at nothing.” Young said. “So there will be a motion filed by the Energy Transfer today to continue the pipeline … We are a peaceful movement, but we may have to make a move to protect our territory.”

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Even now sharing this article I am filled with emotion. This is what America in particular needs right now – repentance and forgiveness! We need it in our homes, our churches, our schools – we need it in our stony hearts that have been blinded by hate – hate that has been passed down from generation to generation. The new offspring don’t really understand the pain caused by the violence and hatred of those different from them; they just picked up the mantle because daddy and granddaddy taught them to carry on the family tradition – hate those who are different.

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In essence, they are fanning the flames of what has been done – bigotry – and what will be done again under the sun. In America, history is repeating itself – we shouldn’t be surprised as to what we are witnessing today. It is nothing new. The question is – when will it end?

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Satan, the god of this world is a master of deception. One lie was all it took for the fall of man. One lie was all it took for a massacre to take place in Rosewood Florida. Sowing seeds of doubt is Satan’s favorite weapon against man – “Did God really say?” People are losing their minds clouded by mass confusion – of which God is NOT the author. While people on social media and in public are tearing each other down – the rich who control America are inventing new ways to exploit the poor. While the “have nots” are fighting each other in the streets, the rich are on Capitol Hill setting America up for fodder for our enemies – and she has many! While their pockets grow fatter, the common people continue to struggle just to put food on the table. Open your eyes America!

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I ask again, “How do you want to be remembered?”

Will you be among the greedy rich who only care about their own appetites? Will you be remembered as the spoiled child who disrespected parents and all authority? Will you be remembered for lying, cheating, making promises that you have no intention of keeping? What will be in the memories of the people left behind when you die?

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Will you be known as the bully who taunted innocent children daily? How about the wicked soul that drove a young girl to suicide by bullying her for no good reason? Will you be remembered as the husband or boyfriend who could not handle rejection? What will people put on your headstone? “I killed her because I couldn’t have her!”

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Most of all, when the Book of Life is opened, – what will be written there about you? Will your name be written in Heaven? Luke 10:20

Will you be remembered for judging others without mercy?

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10But thou, why dost thou judge thy brother? or thou again, why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment-seat of God.

11For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, to me every knee shall bow, And every tongue shall confess to God.

12So then each one of us shall give account of himself to God.

Matthew 12:36
But I tell you that men will give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.

Matthew 16:27
For the Son of Man will come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He will repay each one according to what he has done.

2 Corinthians 5:10
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive his due for the things done in the body, whether good or bad.

Galatians 6:5
For each one should carry his own load.

1 Peter 4:5
But they will have to give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

How will you stand before Almighty God when you die?

How do you want to be remembered?

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Revelation 3:5
“Like them, the one who is victorious will be clothed in white garments. And I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but I will confess his name before My Father and His angels.”

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