As with many conversations I have with my friends around the world, the topic of death was an interesting one with Oscar Muriu from Nairobi, Kenya. We have become good friends and are enjoying time together in ministry.

One day we were discussing death and how our cultures think about it, and I was intrigued by his thoughts. Oscar has travelled regularly around the world and I believe has done a better job in understanding North American (or Western) culture than I/we have in understanding his culture.He shared with me the seemingly opposite way that we think about death based on someone’s age. 

When someone young in North America dies, let’s say a 5 year old or a teenager, we grieve the loss and use words such as “tragic”, and phrases like “they had so much life to live and it was cut short.” When someone older dies, let’s say someone in their 80’s or 90’s, sure we are sad, but we say things like “they had a good life” or “thankful for the time we had together.” It isn’t as tragic as someone younger.

In Oscar’s Kenyan context however, the conversation is flipped. When someone young dies, sure there is sadness, but their thinking is more around the idea that the child never had the opportunity to contribute much to society and the community so there isn’t that much to grieve. Yet when an older person dies, their sadness is great because they have lost one of their wisdom keepers. This person has lived and experienced much in life and has provided wisdom for the younger generation, and they are now gone.

I’ve thought about this conversation often and shared it with many people. It has caused me to reflect on the many assumptions our culture gives us that we believe must be right for everyone. 

As a follower of Jesus, and as one who also guides others in their journey of discipleship, conversations such as this one have caused me to reflect even deeper on what scripture has to say. What could I be missing? How often have I tried to get scripture to validate what my culture believes instead of what it is actually saying?

Let’s think about death briefly. In the bible I read about the Apostle Paul in Philippians 1 when he states “I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me.” I hear Jesus’ prayer in John 17 as he yearns “Now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began.” Is this what I pray about?

The view of death in my North American context is so different, and this I believe has been fully adopted in the Christian context. What do we do with these verses? I’ve never seen someone pray along with the Apostle Paul about longing to be with Christ. It is never the “verse of the day” in the Bible App that we are to reflect on throughout our day.

I don’t have the exact answer for the thoughts I’m sharing, other than the idea that we must embrace all of scripture and try to reason away what we don’t think fits. And perhaps at times, our friends from different cultures will be instrumental in prompting us to think differently. 

For the Kingdom.