I turned 41 last week and it was a little bit harder than I thought it would be. My wife, children, family, and friends were very kind and gracious. Thank you for all the wonderful cards and well wishes! Why is getting older so hard? I know at least one person who says that they love getting older. It is better than the alternative. You only have so much time. At a birthday one thinks of the things they’d like to accomplish, but haven’t. That is hard. What one should do is think about the many blessings one has.
I recently read a book called, “Metaphysical Animals.” It’s quite good, and about four women philosophers who study during world war two at Oxford. For a while one of the women, Elizabeth Anscombe studied in Cambridge under Ludwig Wittgenstein. He was a tortured soul, and his brilliance was terrifying. Ms. Anscombe translated his work into English; which is no simple task. The main work is titled, “Philosophical Investigations.” I listened to that audiobook too. It was a difficult book to absorb, but the main idea is that language is both capable and insufficient. Through hundreds of examples Wittgenstein demonstrates how language can effectively communicate ideas, but that it is also fluid and can almost always mean different things. Wittgenstein seems to believe that there is a reality beyond which language can fully describe and so is kind of Platonic. However, language can’t be boiled down to uncontested logical syllogisms. It is irreducibly nuanced and playful. Wittgenstein talks more about “language games” than formal systems. So playfulness is concomitant with intelligence. If you want to be smart, you need to know how to play.
Wittgenstein died at a relatively young age and he, like many of his contemporaries, was a chain-smoker. He died of cancer and suffered physically at the end of his life. Ironically as he grew closer to death the tormented nature of his soul relaxed and on his deathbed he expressed a profound gratitude for his life; calling it, “a good life.” This surprised many people, because he had endured so much suffering. His deathbed confession is surprising in a similar way that the parable of Lazarus and the rich man is surprising.
It’s surprising that the rich man is not named, but Lazarus is. Usually money and power gain one recognition. But in this story the poorman Lazarus is recognized. This very fact brings up the question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” Why would Lazarus suffer so terribly and the rich man live so extravagantly? The answer might surprise you.
If you believe that it’s God’s grace that saves us, and not our actions, then you also have to concede that there is no justice in the present moment. God is not rewarding or punishing you or anyone else. God’s grace doesn’t discriminate based on the quality of person that you are. This means that if you want justice and fairness in this life, you have to make that happen. That’s what faith is, it’s believing that you have to take responsibility for what is just and true. You can’t sit back and wait for God to do that for you. It’ll never happen.
But what about the part of the story that happens after Lazarus and the rich man die? Several things are noteworthy. Lazarus doesn’t know or believe in Jesus. He is rewarded with everlasting comfort and peace only because he had already suffered, and was a good man. He endured the suffering that fell on him without terrorizing or tormenting others. He was nice to dogs; and dogs were nice to him, so that helps too!
The rich man has to endure pain and anguish because he already experienced comfort in this life. He tries to command Abraham to order Lazarus to help him. This rich man who is used to using people just keeps on trying to do that even in hades. It doesn’t work. He pleads with Abraham to send Lazarus back from the dead to warn his family to repent. Abraham’s answer, which is Jesus’ answer, who is telling the parable, is quite fascinating. The answer is, “No.” Everything you need to know to have eternal life is available through Moses and the Prophets. Furthermore, sending someone from the dead won’t make any difference. Ironically, Jesus is exactly the person who resurrected from the dead. But according to his own words this doesn’t really affect a person’s salvation.
It has been an evangelism strategy for a long time to try to convince a person that Jesus is worthy of our devotion and worship precisely because he did resurrect, and yet Jesus is on record saying that a resurrection wouldn’t matter much in convincing someone to be faithful. This is sobering.
So what is the moral of the story? If resurrection can’t save a person, what can? Money. Rather, a lack thereof. Jesus warns us in the strongest way possible that a love for money puts our very salvation at risk. The love of money is so seductive that it can corrupt the heart of anyone: no matter what religion they subscribe to. Greed, and the love of money, is the root of all evil. How many times in history has a concern for money and income hobbled an otherwise good person from doing the right thing? It makes one wonder if that isn’t the point. If the invention of money itself exists to quiet and control the populace.
How many people walked through the rich man’s gate to attend one of his swanky parties and ignored Lazarus as they walked by? And why was Lazarus parked at the rich man’s gate? Why did the rich man know Lazarus’ name? Did Lazarus get his wounds from serving the rich man?
Day in and day out we “work” for money to be able to survive. Yet some of the most important jobs to our survival as a species are the most underpaid. The very people who hold life and death in their hands are given a pittance. Why? Is raising interest rates on those who have to borrow money the only way to manage the economy?
So what’s the good news? The good news is that there’s no price tag on heaven. While you may not control whether you suffer in this life, you can choose how to respond. You can choose for this life to be a good life. Don’t let anyone tell you that you aren’t worth it. Nobody is worthy. God’s grace makes it possible for everyone to live a good life.
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