January 5, 2003: What Will They Say At Your Funeral?

At the last church I pastored I had to do a lot of funerals for people I had never met. I would always meet with the family beforehand so I could learn about the deceased and say nice things about him or her during the message. It was a joy to hear about the good character and lives of some of these people. Sometimes my experience was like Peter's in Acts 9, where he went to the funeral of a woman named Dorcas and her friends told him about all the good things she had done.

Then sometimes my experience was like that of a pastor I read about who asked a new widow,

"What was your husband like?"

"He was kind of average."

"Did he have any hobbies or anything?"

"No."

"What did he like to do?"

"He watched TV."

"Any particular programs he liked?"

"No, he just watched everything."

What in the world do you say at the funeral of a man like that? "We are gathered here to honor the memory of our dearly beloved. He watched TV."

Spend a minute contemplating what honest people will say about you when you're dead. After you're done being depressed about that, resolve for this new year to be more like Dorcas. Do so many good things that everybody will mourn your loss and wish they could bring you back. And don't watch too much TV.