By Rev. Kabs Kanu
The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power,
And all that beauty, all that wealth e’er gave,
Awaits alike the’ inevitable hour.
The paths of glory lead to the grave
This passage from ELEGY WRITTEN IN A COUNTRY CHURCHYARD by Thomas Gray comes to my mind whenever I hear the death of a much- adored celebrity or a famous or wealthy man.
When the most powerful man in Liberia in those days (60s and 80s), Mckinnley A. Deshield ,followed by President William Tolbert, Fallah Varney, Thomas weh Syen, Thomas Quiwonkpa and Samuel Doe died, these verses came to my mind.
In Sierra Leone, the same verses assaulted my mind when the first Prime Minister Sir Milton Margai, Governor General Sir Henry Lightfoot Boston, Sir Albert Margai, the feared political duo, C.A. Camara Taylor and S.I Koroma, President Siaka P. Stevens, the filthy rich and oligopolistic Jamil Sahid Mohamed and Bailor Barrie, the brains of Africa Professor Davidson Nicol and Professor the Rev. Canon Dr. Harry Sawyer, John Karefa Smart and even famous footballers like King Kama Dumbuya, Gbatieh Davies , Ishmael Dyfan , Abdulai Garrincha Sesay and goalkeeper Le Grande Kargbo passed away.
All these people were very, very powerful. They bathed in the heraldry, pageantry and pomp of power and fame. Everybody talked about them. Professors Davidson Nicol and Harry Sawyer were so brainy that people were saying while they were alive that the white man was thinking of buying their brains when they die to see what was in them that made them so brilliant (Just like Professor Chike Obi of Nigeria, who in the 80s was regarded as one of the best mathematicians in the world).
What about the kings of world football Edison Arantes Do Nascimento (Pele) and Maradona? What about Princess Diana (One of the most beautiful women to ever walk this earth) and Queen Elizabeth the Second?
In America, who was more famous than the king of the pops, Michael Jackson? In the field of Law, whenever Johnny Cochran opened his mouth to argue in court, sparks did not only fly; people fell off the edges of their seats. He was indescribably immaculate in the law.
Yet, you would love to ask: Where are all these famous and or wealthy people today? They strode the higher places of the earth like a mighty colossus. Where are they today? You know the answer. They have all died, confirming what Thomas Gray says in his immortal poem that THE PATHS OF GLORY LEAD TO THE GRAVE.
Whatever fame or wealth we get on this earth is not permanent. We, as Christians, must always have that at the back of our minds.
This week, Sierra Leoneans are in tears. Two of the country’s most beloved artists, the incomparable fashionist and best dresser Victor Oni Williams and the remarkable singer, Lansana Sheriff, famously known as Steady Bongo, died suddenly, leaving everybody soaked in mourning. These were men who breathed and exuded fame and glory and were celebrated wherever they went. But today, they are no more. What lessons are there to learn from their demise? We want to extend our deepest condolence to their families. May their souls rest in peace. But since their deaths have resonated every profoundly with people from all levels of society, let us learn some lessons from them.
People become very famous and wealthy on earth and everybody admires them. But their stories illustrate the futility of human and worldly glories.
Whether rich or poor, famous or infamous, we all share a common destiny. We will all die and we will return to dust out of which God has made us. As we mourn them, let their deaths teach us a lesson. If you are famous and rich, let it be known to you that, like them, we will face the agony of death one day. Fame and riches are not permanent.
What lessons should we learn from all these sordid facts? IT IS YHAT HUMAN LIFE IS PRECARIOUS AND DEPENDS ON GOD. LIFE IS SHORT. TOMORROW IS NOT PROMISED. When Steady Bongo went to bed on Friday night, he did not know that by night-time on Saturday, the next day, people will be mourning him. EVERYBODY ON THIS EARTH WILL DIE ONE DAY, WHATEVER THEIR STATUS, FAME, POWER AND BEAUTY. WE WILL ALL DIE AND BE BURIED BENEATH THE EARTH. So, whatever fame or riches we achieve, let us not forget God. These two men are being highly praised for their comportment. We thank God for them. But how many people achieve the fame they enjoyed and remained humble?
The Bible says that man is mortal. Man is nothing. Man will die one day and rot under the earth.
Hebrews 9:27: “It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment”
Ecclesiastes 7:2: “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”
Genesis 3: 19 3:19 “For dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return”
Ecc 12: 5- 8 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
8 Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.
How many of us know this and live our lives on this earth based on these Christian precepts?
Please let us learn that everything we are doing on this earth is vanity. All will end one day in death and we shall return to dust.
BUT PEOPLE LIVE ON THIS EARTH LIKE THEY DO NOT KNOW THESE SAD FACTS ABOUT MAN. THEY FORGET THAT ONE DAY THEY WILL DIE AND RETURN TO THE DUST OUT OF WHICH THEY WERE CREATED. This is the biggest mistake man will ever make —LIVING AND DYING WITHOUT GOD. For whatever we achieve on this earth, we shall return to God one day. But lots of people who are famous and rich become very proud and pompous and abuse and mistreat other people. They live like they have achieved it all and they are the be- all and end – all of life. Many do not know God. Their fame and wealth go into their heads. It should not be so. Fame and wealth are fleeting. They are not permanent.
Knowing this that life is not permanent and one day we shall die, what should be the overriding passion of man? WE SHOULD DRAW NEARER TO GOD. That is the main lesson to learn. God made us to worship and serve him and also, this world is not our home.
Hebrews 13:14-16
“For this world is not our home; we are looking forward to our everlasting home in heaven”.
We are just passing through. Our home is with God in the next world. This is also why even we Christians are warned in Colossians 3: 1-3 that “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hiding with Christ in God.”.
This is a message that many people do not want to hear. I know many will resist it. But we as preachers and messengers of God are called to preach it to everybody. We must use circumstances to preach to people that life is not permanent and that whatever we achieve on this earth is immaterial. Our permanent life is with God in the next world, so let us draw NEARER to God for everything in this world is vanity. We will leave all one day and return to dust. Let us not allow worldly glory to distract us from the main thing which is to love, obey and serve God. We cannot allow worldly glory to be our only preoccupation because, like these men, we shall die one day and leave everything behind. L ET US ALL REMEMBER THAT ONE DAY WE SHALL DIE.
But in doing so, let us also know that there is good news. Note that God did not abandon us on this earth. He did not create us to just live and die one day. Though we shall all die, it is not all gloom and doom. If we draw nearer to God and live and die in him, death is not a loss to us. Death is victory for us.
Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ says: “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. (John 11:25-26). This is an immortal and eternal promise we should all embrace.
If we believe in Jesus and live in him, when we close our eyes in death on this earth, we open your eyes in Heaven and say “Good morning, Jesus. ” Jesus Christ will welcome you in Heaven as he came and provided hope for us.
TO BE CONTINUED
