“The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it.” (Proverbs 27:12)
I was saddened to learn about John F. Kennedy, Jr.’s death last month. He exuded some qualities that are hard to find among the rich and famous. Come to think of it, humility, grace, good manners, and generosity are hard to find among the not-so-rich and famous, too.
Death seems to work its way earlier into the Kennedy family than it does in most other families. Why?
Well it should be obvious by now that the Kennedy’s are a family of risk takers. President Kennedy was advised not to go to Dallas. He not only went, but rode in a convertible, waving to onlookers while his assassin patiently waited for him. And don’t forget that Robert Kennedy’s son, Michael, died last year when he hit a tree while going out for a pass on snow skis.
John F. Kennedy, Jr. should have known better, too. You never fly over water if you can’t read your airplane’s instruments.
There’s a biblical truth behind all the tragedy that seems to haunt the Kennedy family: God loves us enough to let us make our own choices. Sadly, however, we must live, or die, with the consequences that come with them, which is why Proverbs tells us that the foolish “die for lack of judgment”. (Proverbs 10:21)
I guess what bothered me most about JFK, Jr.’s death was something that his father said 37 years ago at a dinner for the America’s Cup Crews. It was brought back up to make a poignant link with his family’s decision to bury the younger Kennedy at sea:
“I really don’t know why it is that all of us are so committed to the sea, except I think it’s because in addition to the fact the sea changes, and the light changes, and ships change, it’s because we all came from the sea. And it is an interesting biological fact that all of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, our sweat, and in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch it, we are going back from whence we came.”
You do realize that the President’s account doesn’t line up with Genesis, don’t you? We are not from the sea, but rather the hand of God. At least that’s what’s Genesis 2:7 says: “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” No offense to anyone who believes such hype, but I was made in God’s image and did not evolve from some organism found in seawater.
What concerns me most is I never heard the first person remark about the biblical errancy in the late President’s remarks. Where are the Jerry Falwells and the John Hagees when we need them?
The real lesson here is that we can get confused between what’s biblical and what’s not. Let’s be careful that we remember what God said and always give it the priority that it should enjoy. Remember, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32)
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