We Can’t Start Living Until We Plan Our Funeral

By Mike Glenn

A friend of mine gave me a book the other day. “It’s one of the best books I’ve ever read,” he said. “I’m giving copies to all my friends.” When my friend who used to be the president of a well-known Christian college, pastor, author and nationally known speaker recommends a book, I take him very seriously. The book was called “Living Life Backwards” by David Gibson. The book, based on a study of Ecclesiastes, makes the point that life only has two guarantees – death and the judgment to come. Because, Gibson writes, human beings know they will die, this should give all of us a sense of urgency and focus for our living. Our time is limited and because we will one day give an account for how we lived our days; we shouldn’t be wasteful or careless with our time.

If that wasn’t enough, the Wall Street Journal recently ran an article called, “It’s Called a Pre-mortem – and It’s the Most Productive Thing You’ll Do All Year” by Ben Cohen. Cohen’s point is similar to Gibson’s. Because we know we’re going to die, spend some time at the beginning of the new year thinking about your death bed. How will you die? Celebrating a life well lived or regretting a life of missed opportunities? Who will be standing around you at your deathbed? What do you have to do in your life, so those people are there when you’re dying? Oliver Burkeman’s book, “4000 Weeks,” makes a similar point. If we do the math, the average lifespan is about 4,000 weeks or just over 76 years. Doesn’t sound long when you think about our lives that way, does it?

Seems like someone is trying to get a message to me.

Their point is well taken. We don’t have as much time as we think we do. Before we know it, the monitor beeping next to our bed will flatline and our time will be over. Whatever we dreamed of doing will remain undone. Whatever we should have said will remain unsaid. All our dreams will fade away into regret and we won’t have any more chances to do – well, anything. We’ll be dead.

If you didn’t already know that, you know it now.

So, here’s the question we all need to answer at the beginning of this new year: what do I have to do now so I crawl into my death bed with no regrets - so I will arrive at the end of my days with joy and gratitude?

Whatever that is, start doing it now.

When we sit down to make this list, we’re surprised at how many things we’re doing that aren’t on the list. We have meetings for organizations that are nice to be part of, but aren’t necessary to our successful living. There are relationships that take enormous time and attention, but don’t add anything to our happiness. We watch programs that only end up killing time. Did you catch that? Why would we do anything that “kills time”? To our shame and ultimate regret, we do that way too much.

The first step in living well is to stop doing all those things that keep us from living well. Before we can say “yes” to the life we want, we have to say “no” to everything else. What most of us need to do in our attics, closets and garages we need to do to our souls as well. All of it needs to be decluttered.

My friends in Alcoholics Anonymous tell me they must protect their sobriety at all costs. They can’t let anything – job, relationships or past mistakes – keep them from staying on the path. I think we need to think the same way about our discipleship. We need to protect our relationship with Jesus at all costs. We can’t let anything get in the way of our following Jesus. Jesus said as much. If you’re not willing to leave your father and mother, you can’t follow Jesus.

So, what are those things that keep us from being fully focused on Jesus? Whatever they are, get rid of them. Be ruthless in this. Paul used terms like “put to death” the sins that keep us bound to our past.

What are the things we should be doing? Add those. Don’t overthink this. Just start doing them. The key to success in this moment is execution. Our lives become better when we start living better. The sad thing is all of us know what we need to do, we just don’t do it. Or we’re going to do it tomorrow. Or next week. Or next year.

And then, we run out of weeks.

We’re going to die. Then, we will face the judgement. We can’t do anything about this.

What we can do something about is what happens between then and now. Make the choice now to live without regrets so you can die the same way.