For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. – Philippians 1:21

Today’s Scripture Reading (February 2, 2015): Philippians 1

Maybe one of the most famous lines ever written by William Shakespeare appears in the play “Hamlet.” In the play, Shakespeare writes these words as the Prince of Denmark (Hamlet) ponders life.

To be, or not to be, that is the question—
Whether 'tis Nobler in the mind to suffer
The Slings and Arrows of outrageous Fortune,
Or to take Arms against a Sea of troubles,
And by opposing, end them? To die, to sleep—
No more; and by a sleep, to say we end …

C. S. Lewis argues that this is the real tragedy in Hamlet - Hamlet himself seems to be undecided about life. The role that death plays in Hamlet, at least according to Lewis, is greatly underestimated. And it is in this passage, as well as a few others, that the protagonist reveals his ambivalence with regard to life. The truth is that Hamlet is not sure that he wants to live, but he is also very afraid to die.

It is not a reaction that Paul shares. Some have wondered if Paul might have been suicidal as he wrote the opening lines to his Letter to the Philippians. But the reality is that nothing could be further from the truth. Paul is quite willing to go on living, but he has simply become sure of what is on the other side of the curtain we call death, and that has changed his understanding of life. It is as if Paul has completed a pros and cons list. On the pros list he has listed all of the things that he could accomplish. It is where his friends – like the Philippians – are. Paul imagines a world where, with the power of Christ, he gets to continue to be an encouragement to the churches. On this side of the ledger are things like his desire to go to Spain and minister Christ there – and from Spain there was no telling where Paul could have gone. Maybe he could have even carried Christ to the Barbarian tribes to the North of the Roman Empire. With the power of Christ in him, there truly was no limit. To live was truly Christ – centered on Christ and powered by Christ.

But to die would be even better. With all of the great things that could happen if he lived, to die and be physically with Christ flipped the chart. What should have been loss, was gain. For Paul, there was no ambivalence about life and death, and there was no loss. Whatever it was that Paul’s future may have contained, for Paul it was all gain. And Paul was comfortable with that.

In Paul’s mind, the Shakespearean phrase “to be or not to be” ended with Christ. Whether he lived or died, Christ would always be the answer. And because of that, it simply didn’t matter what the future held. All Paul needed to know was that it held Christ.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Philippians 2