Do You Really Want To Live Forever?
In the past month, on various social media platforms, Indonesian netizens have been abuzz with posts containing past and present moments in one scene accompanied by Forever Young music. The song’s lyrics read, “Forever young I want to be forever young. Do you really want to live forever? Forever, and ever. Forever young, I want to be forever young. Do you really want to live forever? Forever young.” This song has gone so viral that its singer, the music group Alphaville, through its vocalist, made a short video thanking Indonesian netizens for making this song go viral.[1]
The return of the viral song “Forever Young” in Indonesia, in my opinion, illustrates the hope of many people to live a long life. If a short survey was conducted on all humans today with one question, would long life be our desire? I am sure more than 99% of respondents will answer “yes” to this question.
However, what is worth asking is, what kind of longevity do many people, including us, actually expect? Is it just a high age number? Or a high age number with a quality of life? Or, a high age number, high quality of life and at the same time friends, siblings, family, relatives, who are the same age as us also have the same thing. In a conversation in the car with my peer group friends on “I Am Here Day” in DC, I told the Team that if we live long but all those the same age as us have passed away, we will feel lonely and alone in the world. Longevity can be a gift and enjoyable, but if not, it will only bring misery, right?
Gratton and Scott emphasize in this book that longevity is not a curse but a gift. They write, “Yet, as we will show, with foresight and planning, a long life is a gift, not a curse. It is a life full of possibilities, and the gift is the gift of time.”[2] However, we must prepare, respond, and deal with this gift wisely. Gratton and Scott then emphasized, “How you choose to use and structure that time is at the heart of the response to living longer.”[3] According to Gratton and Scott, preparing to receive longevity is organizing a quality life. Gratton and Scott further explain, “As well as expecting a restructuring of time, we expect shifts in how time – and especially leisure – is used. A 100-year life puts enormous emphasis on developing key intangible assets that are built around family and friends, skills and knowledge, health and vitality. This requires investment: time with friends and family, time spent in education and retooling, and time spent exercising. Greater longevity requires greater investment in these assets, especially around education.”[4]
In my ministry as a pastor who often makes visits both at home and in hospitals to pray for the congregation, I usually find that those who have entered old age and are sick, especially if it is a terminal illness, actually expect death to come soon rather than a long life. This phenomenon proves that Gratton and Scott are right that we can turn the future and longevity into a gift rather than a curse when we prepare for it wisely, financially, relationally, and healthwise.
In a book entitled Lifespan: Why We Age-And Why We Don’t Have To, Dr. David Sinclair states that aging is a disease, and humans, with their knowledge, can intervene in this problem. Sinclair asserts, “The belief that aging is a natural process is deep-rooted. So even if I’ve somewhat convinced you that aging should be considered a disease, let’s do another thought experiment. Imagine that everyone on our planet typically lives to 150 years in good health. Together we can build a single dam—at the source. Not just intervene when things go wrong. Not just slow things down. We can eliminate the symptoms of aging altogether. This disease is treatable.”[5] That means the hope and effort to realize a long, healthy, happy life is not impossible. It can be attempted and achieved.
However, longevity is certainly not just a gift but also a responsibility. Therefore, Gratty and Scott assert, “The gift of a longer life is ultimately the gift of time. In this long sweep of time there is a chance to craft a purposeful and meaningful life. In a long life, you have the potential to build a cathedral rather than a shopping mall.”[6]
Regarding quality long life, Glanzer reminds us that life is like a symphony that produces beautiful music when we follow the conductor’s guidance, namely Christ in life. Therefore, longevity is both a gift and a responsibility. If we accept it and experience it, it is a valuable opportunity. As Glanzer insists in his book, “The mission of God in the world is carried out by individuals who allow the Lord to shape their lives, preparing them for meaningful leadership service. Like the sound of a beautiful symphony, their lives inspire those around them bringing hope, peace, and fulfillment.”[7] This aligns with the apostle Paul emphasized in Philippians 1:22: if we are still given the breath of life, it means a life that produces fruit for Christ.
[1] https://www.instagram.com/reel/C_ryKtHOt5l/?igsh=MnB5eHlteno2aHU3.
[2] Lynda Gratton and Andrew Scott, The 100-Year Life: Living and Working in an Age of Longevity (London: Bloomsbury Information Ltd, 2016), Introduction.
[3] Gratton and Scott, The 100-Year Life, Introduction.
[4] Gratton and Scott, The 100-Year Life, Chapter 9, “Time: From Recreation to Re-creation.”
[5] David A. Sinclair and Matthew D. LaPlante, Lifespan: Why We Age—and Why We Don’t Have To (Simon & Schuster, 2019), Part I, “What We Know (The Past).
[6] Gratton and Scott, The 100-Year Life, Chapter 6, “Stages: New Building Blocks.”
[7] Jules Glanzer, The Sound of Leadership: Kingdom Notes to Fine Tune Your Life and Influence (Plano, TX: Invite Press, 2023), 42.
About the Author
Dinka Utomo
Dinka Nehemia Utomo is an ordained pastor of the Protestant Church in the Western part of Indonesia (Gereja Protestan di Indonesia bagian Barat or GPIB). He has served for more than 15 years. The first five years of his ministry were in the remote area of East Kalimantan, including people from the indigenous Dayak tribe in the small villages in the middle of the forest, frequently reached using small boats down the river. For more than 15 years, Dinka has served several GPIB congregations in several cities in Indonesia. He has always had a passion for equipping Christian families, teaching and guiding them to build equal relations between husband and wife, maintaining commitment, love, and loyalty, creating a healthy and constructive Christian family atmosphere, and rejecting all forms of violence and sexual violence. Dinka's beloved wife, Verra, is also a GPIB pastor. They have two blessed children. Dinka and his wife and children love to spend quality family time, such as lunch or dinner, and vacation to exotic places.6 responses to “Do You Really Want To Live Forever?”
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Hey Dinka! I love your thought-provoking posts. You got me thinking: Do we want a long life just because we don’t want to die, or do we want a long life to make a difference in this world? I like your words that longevity is both a gift and a responsibility. I like this so much that I will hold onto it and use it to encourage me in the future. Thank you again, Dinka!
Hi Todd!
Thank you for your response. I appreciate it!
You are right! Most people want to live long or forever because they want to avoid death. Even if they live long, many people also avoid the “responsibility” that God has given them. Living responsibly is the same as living an impactful life for the world. Hopefully, we can do it in the future.
Dinka, you highlighted in your post the idea that “longevity is certainly not just a gift but also a responsibility” and “The gift of a longer life is ultimately the gift of time.” These simple statements remind me of our stewardship responsibility in all things God has given us. The question should not be, “What do I want out of this 100-year life?” but rather, “How can I best steward the time God gives me?” What do you think?
Hi Kim!
Thank you for your response. I appreciate it!
I resonate with your thoughts. When talking about time, the emphasis is on quantity. But how to use the time that God has given us means quality. I believe God designed our lives to, first and foremost, produce quality and have a positive impact throughout our lives.
Dinka,
This paragraph was so profound for me. You share, “However, longevity is certainly not just a gift but also a responsibility. Therefore, Gratty and Scott assert, “The gift of a longer life is ultimately the gift of time. In this long sweep of time there is a chance to craft a purposeful and meaningful life. In a long life, you have the potential to build a cathedral rather than a shopping mall.”” I have never thought of it this way. I wrote in my blog that the thought of living 100 years is unappealing to me, mainly because of the inevitable physical decline and loss of long-term relationships. The idea of longevity being a gift as well as a responsibility never occurred to me. Thank you for giving me another perspective.
Love your post-Dinka, I’ll have to check that book out by Dr. Sinclair. Being in the fitness industry for so many years has exposed me to several thinkers and researchers on aging. One expert from New Zealand claims that fasting is one of the best ways to slow the aging process for the human body. He does not eat until about 5 pm every day and does 3 day periodic fast, and it looks like it works for him! Love that you and Kim both used the “Build Cathedrals not shopping Malls” quote!