Cutting Man to Size

Death cuts man to size. Serving as a lesson of humility before God, it teaches us that no power on earth can keep us alive if it is God’s will that we die. No power on earth can interpose between Our Maker and us on the Day of Judgement.

The Government of India planned that the house of the former Prime Minister, Mrs Indira Gandhi, be maintained as a museum so that people may come and pay their tributes to the memory of the most powerful woman in the world—who died a martyr.

The great irony of this death is that not all the power in this world was able to prevent it. At that moment of horrendous slaughter, one saw in Mrs Gandhi, not a mighty leader at the pinnacle of international fame but a poor, frail, helpless victim whom nothing and no one could save. It mattered nought that she lived in a splendid mansion, possessed unparalleled political power, was heavily guarded night and day and was looked up to by millions. However, she was shot dead by the weapons that should have been used to save her life. In the end, her lot was no better than that of the poorest outcast of society.

From this, we should learn the lesson of humility before God. No power on earth can keep us alive if it is God’s will that we die. No power on earth can interpose between Our Maker and us on the Day of Judgement. No memorials erected by human beings will alter one whit our onward courses towards Heaven or Hell. No human intercession will cause the slightest wavering in the judgement of our Divine Creator.