Is the day and time of my death and yours entirely predetermined and do we have any say in the matter?
I had a polite conversation with a man recently who emphatically declared that “When it’s your time, you go and you go when it’s your time” or something to that effect. He insisted that nothing could influence this. I respectfully disagreed and shared my thoughts with him. Here are some of them.
We are, in fact, told in Psalm 139:16 that we are allotted a number of days. When we see a text like this, it’s easy to imagine that that is all there is to the matter– we have an allotment and whatever that is, that’s how long we’ll live. Well, actually, there is a lot more to the discussion. There are many passages of Scripture which contribute to the conversation and they lead me to believe the following.
- We are given an allotment by God, a number of days which He’s appointed for us to live (Psalm 139:16), BUT,
- We may or may not reach that allotment, depending on many variables.
b. Due to the fear of the Lord, our days can be lengthened. See Proverbs 10:27.
c. God does not always control the precise time of our death. See 1 Kings 20:42.
There are many more verses that inform this discussion, which I have not included, but these provide a start. To those who still believe that God absolutely micromanages the time of your death and who say that we have no say in the matter, consider this. Have you looked at the death statistics for those who smoke and for the morbidly obese? Do you find it odd that God “wills” the early death of smokers and the obese more than non smokers and people who are more conscientious about their health?
Do you think that God wanted the people who have committed suicide to die when (and how) they did? Do you think that those who drive drunk and cause their own death and the death of others just happen to be people who are determined to face death when they did because God ordained it? Did they play no role?
One of my brothers had a heart attack three years before his death and kept this information from his family and never sought medical care and swore to secrecy the one person who was with him, insisting that he not tell a soul. That person finally let the cat out of the bag on the day of my brother’s death, due to a heart attack. Given this new information, we found ourselves frustrated with my brother. Did he have nothing to do with the timing (and manner) of his death? Could he be alive and possibly healthy today, had he seen a doctor? Yes, it is possible that had he sought medical treatment when he first experienced crushing chest pain, he may have needed open heart surgery. He would probably also have made some vital life-style changes, which would have resulted in a longer life.
My brother had memorized many Bible verses about healing. That’s wonderful, but that is not the only thing that is essential for the good stewardship of one’s health. It’s essential that we exercise. It’s critical that we eat good foods, that we not smoke, that we are moderate in our consumption of alcohol, that we get sufficient sleep AND that we walk with God and trust Him to be our healer AND the one who will finally, dismiss us in peace.
Next week, we'll talk about grieving and lamenting.