When Saddam Hussein and Osama BinLaden were killed, there was celebration. At a glance it seemed to me a bit like a world of savages celebrating the death of a human being.
I understood it though the celebration of death seemed savage to me; regardless of whose death we were celebrating. It felt like a denial of mercy and life, but that is not what I am writing about right now.
Today I read Proverbs 11, and verse 10 struck this chord in me.
"when the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy."
There is no question of the wickedness of Osama and Saddam. I am not too certain you have to be a follower of Jesus to question that. How it felt to celebrate their death, again, is not the point, but the realization that this is going to happen when wicked people are gone.
The question for me (and you) today hits at the reality that how you live your life is how you will be remembered when you are gone.
Can you imagine people celebrating that you were finally dead and gone?
What if we broke this detail down a little further?
What do people think and say of you after you leave? After you graduate? After you retire from the company? After you move out of your neighborhood? After you leave your church? After you move to your next job?
After you walk away from a conversation?
How we interact with people and live our lives impacts how we will be remembered.
I do not want people to celebrate the moment I finally leave them, but that factor is determined by how I interact with people now.
