Is it unhealthy to think about death too much?

bettercallpaul said:

NB: not a thread about suicide

I mean as Christians, we are supposed to ponder on the shortness of our earthly life versus eternal life.
I tend to be obsessive about it though. Wondering about the last hour of my death. How much faith I will have. How much courage. How close I will feel to God.
Some will see it as negative I suppose. But I think it is only natural to be concerned about it.
I think about it every day, to be honest. Oh dear!

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lol I love it when I see the title of your thread and think it's one thing and i'm like wth.... and then I see hte little clarification you have under every time haha.

God gave you a brain and free will to think about anything you want to think about.

But God also wants us to live in the moment and not worry about a thing.

He wants us to be happy and jolly and cheerful all the time.

He wants us to live like children do. Children that aren't concerned with bills or death or anything like that.

He wants us to live like children in the way that children just trust in their parents.

That much we know is true.

But you wouldn't be human if you didn't ponder death, dying and what it will be for you, when and how.

But don't dwell on it and let it consume you or even bring you down one bit!

For God didn't give you a spirit of fear but of power and of love and a happy mind.

I think the answer is a resounding yes. There are appropriate times to think about things.

Suppose you are in the medical profession, and you are filling out some paperwork for a patient. But you are thinking about death to such a degree that you are unable to think clearly about the patient -- who, ironically, would die if you aren't paying enough attention. But suppose you then realize that you are thinking about death too much to fill out the paperwork. Still, you freely and consciously decide to continue thinking about death, and as a result the paperwork isn't written up correctly. I think we could almost unanimously agree that doing such a thing would be a sin. There is excess in the action. We could sum this up as a principle: thinking about death to such a degree that we are unable to fulfill our duties is a sinful excess.

But perhaps that counter-example seems too far-fetched, and unhelpful. Suppose what you really want to know is, "Should we think about death very often?" I think this would depend on your state in life and your temperament. If it prevents you from fulfilling your duties -- church, prayer, family, work, school, etc. -- then certainly you should think about it less. Indeed, if it prevents you from fulfilling them well, you should think about it less. Temperament can be factored into this as well.

For a fuller answer, we should consider whether one could think of death too little. This would be a sin by deficiency. Of course we could say what we have said above -- that if thinking of it too little prevents us from fulfilling our duties, we should repair our habit. But what might this mean? If, as a result of deficient reflection, one were to become morally reckless, or lacking in spiritual sobriety, unafraid whatsoever of committing sin, etc., then perhaps (not just) a bit of reflection on death would be healthy.

Probably the question we are looking for is the most straightforward: "How much should I think about death?" We probably should simply say, "It depends." I guess the simplest and most general way of saying it would be: enough to fulfill your state in life well, and to flourish. We all intuitively know this. Some people need a bit of sobriety. Others need to block unnecessary anxieties. It really depends.

bettercallpaul said:

NB: not a thread about suicide

I mean as Christians, we are supposed to ponder on the shortness of our earthly life versus eternal life.
I tend to be obsessive about it though. Wondering about the last hour of my death. How much faith I will have. How much courage. How close I will feel to God.
Some will see it as negative I suppose. But I think it is only natural to be concerned about it.
I think about it every day, to be honest. Oh dear!

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In your "last" hour you'll find HIM faithful. HE will be close.

bettercallpaul said:

Are you more sentimental about your own passing, than someone else's?
I think I might be. I feel really selfish saying that.

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We'll meet one day, all of us who name His Name.

visionary said:

Yes it is unhealthy to be thinking about death. A life in Yeshua is forever. It is all about living in Him. We are to have life and it is more abundantly.

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This reminds me of Philippians 4:8.

bettercallpaul said:

NB: not a thread about suicide

I mean as Christians, we are supposed to ponder on the shortness of our earthly life versus eternal life.
I tend to be obsessive about it though. Wondering about the last hour of my death. How much faith I will have. How much courage. How close I will feel to God.
Some will see it as negative I suppose. But I think it is only natural to be concerned about it.
I think about it every day, to be honest. Oh dear!

Click to expand...

I think about death pretty often also for my own reasons. I am a quadriplegic with a traumatic brain injury. I think it's a natural thought to be afraid of it and every human before you have thought the same things.
But To me, it seems like you are looking for a certain and specific answer. I think god, in all of his wisdom knows your heart better than you do. He knows your thoughts before you think them and your actions before you do them. We are Christian men so we love god and have utmost and total faith in what he did at Calvary!! He knows who you are so he can forgive a couple of seconds of human emotion, a little gamble, "lord take my wife instead of me"...."I have three kids but you can have two" kinds of things. For me though, I just hope he's got a sense of humor and loves me for mine!!! God bless you man, in all your wandering and wondering!!!!

FireDragon76 said:

No, monks can have opinions, Father Brendan. It was just my attempt at humor. I suppose the grass always looks greener on the other side of the fence.

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FireDragon76 said:

No, monks can have opinions, Father Brendan. It was just my attempt at humor. I suppose the grass always looks greener on the other side of the fence.

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Greener from the other side of the fence, but if you're dead, you're looking at the roots

Yes, as a Christian I think it's very healthy to think about death, why?...

Firstly, if we are truly saved then we have nothing to be concerned about except the possible pain and discomfort of dying. When we die we will immediately go to be with the Lord Jesus Christ, if we have truly made Him Lord.

Also, I knew a Pastor once who said given the choice he would sooner attend a funeral than a wedding. Does that sound strange? Well, he said it's because death reminds us of the frailty of our lives, we can appreciate every day of what Jesus has done for us, but also it gives us the opportunity to testify to those around us about God's love and witness to those who are concerned and unsure about their destiny.

AS YOU GET OLDER YOU DO THINK ABOUTYOUR DEATH. You can overdo this but sometimes it comes with the time. You attend more funerals at this age. I think it is good to face up to death. But you also had to live. Postponement of trips etc is not good.
You should lead as normal a life as possible with your health.