Writing Your Own Obituary
What do you see as the key to a happy life? Billionaire Warren Buffet has his own answer, and I’m curious what you think of his view. Speaking at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting (he is the CEO), Buffet told those gathered:
“You should write your own obituary and then try to figure out how to live up to it.” [Source]
I’m curious what you think of his approach to happiness. I’m glad you asked. Buffets’ philosophy can be good or bad. It all depends on what you want your obituary to say.
As an agnostic, Warren Buffet thinks in purely material terms: a career, accomplishments, and a financial portfolio. So, if you want your obituary to highlight your bank statement, career accolades, and physical inventory or investments, you better get busy. In Buffet’s words, if you want all that stuff, you better “figure out how to live up to it.”
But would that really make you happy?
More importantly, would it please God? One day, you will stand before God, and He is not going to review your obituary as one reviews a resume. What matters the most is how you answer the question: “What did you do with Jesus Christ?”
We are to trust Jesus, follow Him, and build our lives on Him. As Paul wrote, the foundation of our lives is to be Jesus (1 Cor. 3:11). But let’s not stop there. What do you do as a follower of Christ? Do you still chase after the things Warren Buffet chases after, or do you pursue something far greater—and richer? Paul addressed what we do as we stand on the foundation of Christ:
If anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw, each one’s work will become obvious. For the day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire; the fire will test the quality of each one’s work. If anyone’s work that he has built survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will experience loss, but he himself will be saved — but only as through fire (vv. 12-15).
We know, of course, that Paul was speaking metaphorically. While wood is a great construction material for building on a solid foundation and looks good to the Warren Buffets out there, in God’s refining fire, it burns down to nothing.
Let’s build with the right materials. And at the risk of mixing my metaphors, the right construction materials can be seen in the fruit of our lives.
- The fruit that comes from living in obedience to Jesus (Matt. 7:15-23).
- The fruit of pointing others to Jesus (John 4:34-38).
- The fruit of living like Jesus (Gal. 5:22-23).
This past weekend, I conducted a funeral for a woman I did not know. Although I had been the interim pastor of her church for a year, I didn’t really know her because of her battle with dementia. Yet as I talked with family members, it was obvious she loved Jesus. It was a small gathering, and I gave those present an opportunity to say a word. You would expect all the words to be kind at a funeral—and they were—but it was easy to hear sincerity and truthfulness in their words. No one tried to paint a flowery picture over a flawed person. She lived a fruitful life that honored Jesus. I was reminded of the statement: “Live your life in such a way so that no one has to lie at your funeral.”
Whatever details your obituary holds, make sure that, in the end, Jesus says to you, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
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