Ray Stone
Many people reading this title will no doubt disagree completely. “Death changes everything! It’s the end of it all!” And from a strictly earthly viewpoint, of course, that’s exactly true—the Bible even says that. “All go unto one place. All are of the dust, and all turn to dust again” (Eccl. 3:20). That’s just a reflection of God’s original statement in the beginning, revealing Man’s condition after the Fall: “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return” (Gen. 3:19).
But there’s a whole host of things that many think death will change, that won’t change at all! Consider the question from the viewpoint of one’s character and condition before, and after, that transition we call death. If one was a bad person in life, he will be the same bad person after death. Cartoons commonly show a villain, after death, ascending to Heaven on angels’ wings accompanied by beautiful bird songs, etc. It does not happen that way! One who was a selfish lout in this life will be just as selfish and loutish in his eternity. The act of dying won’t purify him or change his character.
As a case study, examine for a moment the rich man in Jesus’ account of Luke 16. This man “was clothed in purple, and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day” (v. 19). He could afford the best of everything, and had it. What he didn’t have was any concern for others. We sometimes hear criticism of people of wealth today for neglecting to seek out worthy charities or causes to support, saying they have a responsibility to use their riches for the good of the less fortunate. We’re right to feel this way. The Bible bears it out:
Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, Who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; that they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate… (1 Tim. 6:17-18).
The blessings of this world come with equal responsibility to use them to benefit others as well. And many with fabulous riches—the billionaires of the World—do in fact seek out ways to do this very thing, and that’s good.
But consider our rich man: He not only neglected to seek out ways to help others, he refused to see the plight of a poverty-stricken man at his very doorstep. Lazarus, the beggar (vv. 20-21), a righteous man (as further developments indicate), “was laid at his gate, full of sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table…” Here was an opportunity that didn’t even need searching out. There he was! But every day, we can suppose, the rich man passed by this beggar in desperate straits with never a glance or thought, totally self-centered, concerned only with his own considerable comfort and luxury.
And then, as will happen to everyone, rich or poor, they both died. The rich man was buried, no doubt with great pomp and circumstance befitting his social standing. Lazarus apparently didn’t even get a funeral! We simply read that “the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom” (v. 22). Now this rich man, so selfish and uncaring in this life, found himself “in Hell…being in torments” (v. 23). And as evidence of his unchanged character, what was his first thought? “Have mercy on me! Send Lazarus (whom he could see in a place of comfort) to dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue…” (v. 24). Totally egocentric, just as he was in life, so was he still in death. It didn’t change a thing!
There’s a host of lessons to be drawn from this, but for now let’s be content with this one: The only time for change is before you die, while you still can choose the way you’ll live. To the Corinthian Christians Paul recites a whole list of heinous sins, beginning with fornicators and ending with extortioners, with every conceivable evil included between them (1 Cor. 6:9-10). Then he says “And such were some of you!” (v. 11).
Another time he said “For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another” (Titus 3:3). We can read more of the same sentiment in Ephesians 2:2-3 and Colossians 3:5-7. But each of these passages continues in a hopeful vein: “But ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified…” (1 Cor. 6:11). “He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost…” (Titus 3:5). “He made us alive together with Christ…” (Eph. 2:5). “Now ye also put off all these (sins)…” (Col. 3:8). You can change!
The details of how to accomplish that is the subject of another essay, but for now, burn this lesson into your mind: You don’t have to live an unrighteous life; you can (and must) choose your path in this world, how you will live, what kind of person you will be. But the time for such a change is now—because if you delay until death, “Death won’t change a thing!”
