By the third generation

In my talks, I would ask the audience to raise their hands if they knew the answer. The questions are addressed to the men, though they also apply to the women.

The questions are: How many among you know the full name of your fathers?

All of the hands would go up in an instant. But there was a quizzical look on the faces of the people wondering what I was up to. I would thank them for their effort. And then continue:

The second question I would like to ask you and raise your hands if you do, is: How many of you know your grandfather’s full name?

More than half of the audience would raise their hands, and the younger ones would not. Some still wonder where this line of questioning leads; others now look at me suspiciously. They have a sneaky suspicion as to my following line of question. And as usual, I would thank them for their efforts and say, “And here is the last question for you. Kindly raise your hands if you do. How many among you know the full name of your great-grandfather? By this time, in an audience of 200 or more, only two or, at most, three or four hands would go up. Whetting their appetite, some of them would be wondering as to the point of all these questions.

With a bit of a dramatic pause, taking a deep breath, I now conclude and say, “Ladies and gentlemen, no matter how famous, influential, wealthy, or successful you are, you and I will be forgotten by the third generation. But unwilling to let the moment’s mood sink into solemnity and seriousness, I would add a little bit of humor toward the end and say... unless you are Hitler or Judas, you will be remembered for a long time. And this makes the audience laugh, and it helps break the seriousness. But if you dwell deeply on this thought, it would not be a simple laughing matter to consider.

A friend sent me this material credited to anonymity.

In 100 years, like in 2123, we will all be buried with our relatives and friends. Strangers will live in our homes we fought so hard to build, and they will own everything we have today. All our possessions will be unknown and unborn, including the car we spent a fortune on, and will probably be scrap, preferably in the hands of an unknown collector.

Our descendants will hardly know who we were, nor will they remember us. How many of us know our grandfather’s father? After we die, we will be remembered for a few more years, then we are just a portrait on someone’s bookshelf, and a few years later, our history, photos, and deeds disappear into history’s oblivion. We won’t even be memories.

If we pause one day to analyze these questions, we may understand how ignorant and weak the dream to achieve it all was. If we could only think about this, our approaches and thoughts would undoubtedly change; we would be different people. Always having more, no time for what’s valuable in this life.

I’d change all this to live and enjoy the walks I’ve never taken, these hugs I didn’t give, these kisses for our children and our loved ones, these jokes we didn’t have time for. Those would certainly be the most beautiful moments to remember; they would fill our lives with joy. Then, we do not have to waste life daily with greed and intolerance.

Some might say this line of thinking is too fatalistic. Of course, it is. Life is always fatal living on this decaying planet.

Some wealthy businessmen and friends would say, “Yeah, I know Francis, and this is why we need to eat, drink, party, be merry, and enjoy today for tomorrow we die.” Now, this thinking is not only fatal, it seems final.

Many would say, “Because life is short, we need to live our lives every day, making a difference in the lives of others, helping the needy, and leaving a legacy.” Now, this is very noble, and the world has been made better by the contributions of such kinds of people.

And then those of the faith anchored in Jesus Christ look forward to the life beyond the fatality of this world’s existence yet to the infinite presence with Him in the life beyond. They look forward to their future lives and pin their hopes there.

C.S. Lewis says: “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” I guess the idea here is not to be obsessed with being remembered as long as God does not forget those who are His. Good to start the New Year with this thought in mind.

A Blessed New Year to one and all.

(Francis Kong’s podcast “Inspiring Excellence” is now available on Spotify, Apple, Google, or other podcast streaming platforms).