MAN’S PLIGHT
Every Dome Has a Grave
HOW grand and imposing the dome appeared from afar. Less so when the great edifice was entered and there appeared, lying as low as low could be, a solitary grave. What a contrast between that mighty dome—a symbol of human greatness and that lowly grave—testimony to man’s utter helplessness. The two constructions presented a picture of the startling and agonizing discrepancy between what man seeks in this world, and what actually comes his way.
He seeks to consolidate his own position on earth, to establish his own greatness; but the most that he achieves in the end is a dome, concealing one devastated and done away with by death. Man seeks to take his fill of worldly pleasures, but it is a mouthful of earth that is his final portion. He seeks to devour everything in sight upon this earth, only to be himself devoured by this very earth.
When he speaks, he seems to be defying God, but he cannot truly defy God, for God hears all that he says. By his own actions, he sets himself on an infernal course. If only he realized the consequences of his deeds! If only he saw the folly of condemning himself to a fate that he does not have the strength to bear.
The two constructions— dome and grave— presented a picture of the startling and agonizing discrepancy between what man seeks in this world, and what actually comes his way.
So, clear is the picture of truth that appears before man on this earth, that one would not expect him to deny it; yet he does so. Wilfully and scornfully, he casts truth to one side, putting his own interests first. Sometimes his own faults loom before him, clear as the midday sun, yet he does not acknowledge them. Sometimes his attention is drawn to some home truth. Despite having no reasonable argument with which to defend himself, he finds words with which to cast blame on his admonisher.
What a strong stand he takes against oppression, but it is oppression perpetrated by others that he objects to, not to that of which he himself is guilty. Blissfully oblivious to his own corruption, he is quick to expose corruption, and take a stand against it, when he views others as corrupt. When it comes to fulfilling the rights of others, he is negligent in the extreme. He is quick, though, to take up the cause of those who have been denied their rights by others besides himself.
Man seeks to take his fill of worldly pleasures, but it is a mouthful of earth that is his final portion.
In order to consolidate his own power, man raises false slogans, not minding if a whole nation has to suffer as a result. He seeks to advance his own interests at the expense of others, not seeing that in his attempt to trample on the rights of others, he is in fact trampling on truth. He lives in a dream world, though the only world worth living in is one based on truth and reality. If he were to remember death he would live a good life in preparation to receive the rewards of God in the eternal life of the Hereafter.