WHY CHOOSE DEATH? by George

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jun 17, 1903

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 29, No. 24.

WHY CHOOSE DEATH?

By George

ONE would naturally suppose that the ordinary course of death would suffice. The death sentence has passed upon all men because of sin. "All have sinned," says the scripture, and therefore "death passed upon all men." Adam, the father of us all, disobeyed the law of God, and thus brought death upon all his posterity. "In Adam all die." And men are not ignorant of the fact that they must die. The infallible Word of God says, "The living know that they shall die."

This being the case, does it not seem strange that men are not still willing and anxious to live as long as they can? Even those who are most fearful of death will virtually commit suicide. The great deceiver who led mankind into the way of death—through a promise that they should not die—has imbued the race with a kind of unwitting mania for death, an innate desire to destroy life. Perhaps the greatest single manufacturing enterprise in the world is devoted to the invention and manufacturing of engines of destruction, weapons of war. The nations are vieing with each other in preparations for destroying life, and make pretext of very insignificant incidents, of even trifling affairs, for belligerent agitation and the extension of death-dealing facilities.

Men spend large sums of money in the manufacture of poisonous and debilitating drinks and other injurious luxuries. They spend more for unhealthful drinks and for tobacco than for the necessaries of life. They spend more substance in order to live in unhealthful manner, because it is the style, than would support them well and happily in good health. They will waste large fortunes in suicidal manners and customs of existence, and then commit suicide outright because the fortune is gone. Many persons would rather pine away and die in some pent-up city quarters than to live in the open country and do plain work. The majority of people pass away their short allotment of time in utterly reckless regard of the precautions that would add years to their natural lives, and also add comparative comfort. The dangers to life in the large cities are many times as great as in the country; yet fully one-half, in many States and countries more than half, of the population will crowd into these death-traps to body and soul.

But the mass of human beings not only court death as contrasted with this life; but they choose death rather than eternal life. This they do by rejecting Him who alone can give them life. Christ is "the Way, the Truth, and the Life," and His counsel is, "If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments." Matt. 19:17. This was the principle set before ancient Israel, as pertaining to both temporal and eternal life. See Deut. 30:15-20. The situation is plainly set forth in the Gospel: "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." This is truth, for "the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." Then why choose death, when life is at hand? G.