A good name is better than fine perfume,
and the day of death better than the day of birth.
2 It is better to go to a house of mourning
than to go to a house of feasting,
for death is the destiny of everyone;
the living should take this to heart.
3 Frustration is better than laughter,
because a sad face is good for the heart.
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
How is this better? The day of our death, the house of mourning, frustration and a sad face? Solomon kinds of tells us.
“death is the destiny of everyone” v. 2)
Most of our days are spent in a zombie numbness, just trying to stay on top of an endless to-do list and managing the issues in front of us. Rarely do we stop and think about life. Maybe we do when we’re deeply hurt, depressed or going through a tough time. But for the most part we are just zombies from one day to the next.
Then there’s a funeral. Especially when it’s a young person, it stops us. For a few brief moments we contemplate death. Our death. And the purpose of life. This is even more true when someone we love dearly dies.
And so yes, it is better to go to a funeral or go to a graveyard and think about these things. When we understand that we will die in such short time, then it provokes us to shave off those things in our life that are unnecessary, devoting ourselves to what matters and is meaningful.
