Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

“To the angel of the church in Sardis write:
These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.  Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.

• Revelation 3:1-3

But the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives.

• 1 Timothy 5:6

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.

• Ephesians 2:1-2

The New Boilerplate

My wife filled a small book with “Angel” on the cover.  It was hidden with a box of crafting things.  On 18 July 2025, I thought I had posted the last of these.  But this little angel book held a prayer, followed by 71 quotes.  So, the “with a little help” series is back in business for a while.  And it will be fun for me.  She did not attribute any of the quotes.  The first quote was from James A. Garfield, the 20^th president of the USA.  The next one was disputed, with some thinking it originated with Teddy Roosevelt and others saying Fred Astaire.  After the prayer, these might be on the lighter side.

Her quote

“Many people die at twenty-five and aren’t buried until they are seventy-five.”

• Benjamin Franklin

The Discussion

The internet was careful to say that the quote is attributed to Benjamin Franklin, but there are varieties in the quote that can be found.  Some say “people.”  Some say “young men” or simply “men.” Some do not define the “old” age as 75, even some saying “much older.”  At some point in modifying the quote, is it still what Benjamin Franklin said or wrote?

But the Scriptures speak of reasons to be dead while still living.  We can be dead in sin.  We all are until Jesus washes us white as snow or like wool if you prefer that metaphor.  But the church at Sardis had become dead.  They need to remember how they gained true life here on earth and repent.  And Paul tells Timothy that the people (focusing on a woman – probably a known example) who seek earthly pleasures.

Now being dead in sin is a fatal condition.  Dying while in that state leads to the second death when judged by God.  But not so when speaking of the living as a dead person due to seeking earthly pleasures or slipping back into sin (as if seeking earthly pleasures do not lead to a variety of sin…)  We cannot lose our salvation, but we can make a mess of our ability to talk to others about Jesus.

Now, in searching online, Google AI says that the Franklin quote is referring to people who stop learning, stop dreaming, and stop caring about their present life.  I still strive to learn something every day.

I still have dreams in my sleep – not every day and rarely remembered in detail.  But in writing three fictional stories each week, I am dreaming up what might happen next all the time – when not researching for Bible Studies.  Of course, one short story is the featured short story for that week, while the other two are actually Bible Studies: Stinker’s Sunday school class and the Babs and Harold Conversations.

But I may have slipped into not caring about my life at times.  We are to be Joyful in our suffering, but that takes time in learning how.  Sometimes, we are too focused surviving the suffering to think about being Joyful at the moment.  Of course, when we are brought so low that relying on God is all that we have left?  Now, we can be Joyful in that because some people have shut the door on that option.  And God is powerful enough to do something about our meager situation.

So, I think this quote should be interpreted in the spiritual and secular way.  Looking upon God in both situations.  We should repent.  We should not live in sin.  We should not focus on earthly pleasures.  That takes care of us living fully as Christians.  But then learning, dreaming, and knowing that if God has let us live this long, He has someone for us to love and show God’s love.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory