An infinitely sad waste

Janice Linden a South African from KwaZulu Natal was arrested at a Chinese airport in November 2008. She was carrying 3kgs of crystal methamphetamine. So began a journey that has lasted for three years. In 2009, Janice was convicted of drug smuggling, an offence that carries the death penalty in China. Various appeals were made on Janice’s behalf, but the journey ended today with the delivery to her family’s home of a plain brown cardboard box wrapped in masking tape with a DHL sticker. The box contained Janice’s ashes. It was handed over by members of the South African Police Service who had arrived in a small convoy (The Witness).

What an infinitely sad waste.

A life sacrificed on the altar of greed.

I wonder how many people are doing exactly the same thing without realising it. Perhaps you are. You may not have broken the law. Maybe you work very hard. But what will your possessions count for at the end when they pour your remains into a little urn? You sure won’t be taking them with you.

It was for good reason that Jesus said: “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15).

However, there is a way to make your life counts beyond the grave, to make investments that outlast the crematorium’s fire. “Sell your possessions and give to the poor,” says Jesus, “Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Luke 12:33-34).

Cheers for now - Ian