Reframing Memento Mori: Finding Humility for God’s Glory
Clear Thinking by Parrish is a stoic look at decision-making through the lens of taming your natural instincts. Parrish’s point is that we can live deliberate lives by overcoming our defaults with reason. He writes, “The overarching theme of this book is that there are invisible instincts that conspire against good judgment. Your defaults encourage you to react without reasoning – to live unconsciously rather than deliberately.” [1] Stoically, Parrish points his audience to self-control, saying, “Self-control is the ability to master your fears, desires, and other emotions.” [2] Living well in the little moments is how we live well. It’s an excellent read for leaders in learning differentiation.
Toward the end of the book, he encourages people toward Memento Mori – the Latin phrase for ‘remember death’ to think back on their lives as though they are 80 or 90 years old. He asks his audience to imagine the things that they think will matter. He is leading them to engage in meta-cognition. Parrish writes, “When we look back at the present through the lens of our life ending, the fears and desires that occupy our attention in the present moment get pushed aside to make room for things that have greater meaning for our lives as a whole.” [3] I think he asks the wrong question.
I think a flaw of the book is the stoic thread that runs through it: a person’s inner character ought to be indifferent to external affairs. As a stoic, his worldview is exclusively material. His question is limited to the material world. Stoicism has always lived with the motivation for the higher self, whereas Christians are motivated as a response to the love of God. The Christian motivation is situated outside of themselves in God and his love. From the days of scripture, Christianity has been in dialogue with Stoicism, with ethics being a unifying feature. Both sought inner peace amid turmoil—the stoics in ethics and virtue through the higher self. The Christian community sought inner peace through the power of the Holy Spirit.
I hope to reframe his stoic position by reframing his question from before death to the moment after. If you were to imagine yourself with Jesus in the moment after you die, how would it change your answer?
Perhaps the distinction is too small to be meaningfully different. I hope that by reframing the question to the moment after death, the things that matter may be transformed by the presence of God. Then, the things that matter are no longer those of my inner or higher self but those of God. This framing aligns with the classic Christian view of humility.[4]
The humility of the Christian goes beyond the material and to the self. We can understand and take Jesus’ view by understanding humility, not as a low-view of self, but by adopting a no-view of self as modeled by Jesus. In Philippians 2:5-11, we are told to:
“Have the same mindset as Jesus, who, being the same form as God, did not consider equality with God as something to exploit but poured himself out. He received the form of a slave, was born in human likeness, and now is found in human form. He became obedient to the point of death, even death by crucifixion. And now, God has highly exalted him and given him the name above all names. In order that at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow in heaven, on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord for the glory of God the Father.” (author translation)
Jesus’ humility is in his pouring himself out. The Greek word for pouring out is from the root κενος (kenos), also meaning to empty or render void. Our example, Jesus, empties himself not just of worldly possessions but of his form. The Greek word for form is μορφη (morphe); in its meaning, it is connected with essence. The one who holds the universe together poured out his essence and went all the down to the cross and into the grave. The Memento Mori for the Christian is not our own but Jesus. He gave up who he was to do the work of the Father. And now, God has highly exalted him and given him the name at which every knee will bow, and tongue confess that Jesus is Lord for the glory of God the Father.
Looking back at your life before death, Parrish says, “You might think of the impact- or lack of it- that you had…You might think of your health. Did you do everything you could to prepare your body to live to eighty… Did you take care of yourself so you could take care of others?” [5] When I imagine my life in the moment after my death, I hope I do not see myself. I hope to see the glory of God the Father and the resurrected Jesus Christ. If we look back on my life at all, I hope we see moments that bring him glory. Perhaps we’ll see the men and women God uses me to raise for his glory and the glory they give him.
The answer to prioritizing my time shifts from what brings my life the most joy to what brings God the most glory.
I want to take a moment and say what a joy this semester has been with all of you. I look forward to restarting this again in the fall!
[1] Shane Parrish, Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results (London: Cornerstone Press, 2023), 245.
[2] Parrish, 59.
[3] Parrish, 236.
[4] Dunnington has done a great job exploring classical humility here: Kent Dunnington, Humility, Pride, and Christian Virtue Theory, Oxford Studies in Analytic Theology (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019).
[5] Parrish, Clear Thinking, 238.
About the Author
Robert Radcliff
Hi! I'm Robert, and I'm seeking to understand who God is calling me to be in my community while helping others do the same. I enjoy reading, training for triathlons, and using exclamation points!One response to “Reframing Memento Mori: Finding Humility for God’s Glory”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Repositioning the question to the moment after death does realign what really matters to the Reality of an eternal God, but would be a bit hard to report back on to those who are living ;). Parrish’s perspective is a humanist and naturalist world view, seeking the higher self. What really matters changes significantly if all we have is this life. “If our hope Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.” (1 Cor. 15:19) This verse is right in the middle of the of Paul’s writing about resurrection of Christ and of ourselves. Seems quite fitting for this discussion in the week we remember the death and resurrection.
I have also enjoyed the dialogue with fellow classmates this semester. I need the summer to recover, but can’t wait to see you all in South Africa!