What Heart can Do

A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. 

-- Proverbs 17:22, NIV

My father's health is deteriorating after his 70th birthday. I think he's thinking of passing away. His thought is being influence by the Psalm 90:10, NIV:

Our days may come to seventy years,or eighty, if our strength endures; 

yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.

This dark feeling of Psalmist seems thinking that a man life is only for 70 years or up to 80 years. So, a man more than 70 should be an empty shell.

I think this is a contradictory! God never said that. He only limits human to 100 years. Is there something wrong with this text?

So, I tried to see what the essay said about this text.

According to essay by Pinker, the passage might get mistranslated slightly. According to his analysis, it should be interpreted as such:

The years in which we have strength are about seventy (or, when particularly mighty they are eighty). That which one is proud of, is in retrospect only vexation and sorrow. We quickly fade, lose our senses, and make the death rattle ...

It is a retrospective passage about how the Psalmist felt about himself. It is a metaphor for his condition. That's why in the following he asked the wisdom to count his days. So that he was prepared.

It shouldn't be about life expectancy. Various biblical text showed people live more than 80 years. So, don't think about giving up life after 70!

After thinking about it, I don't think Psalm 90:10 is the main cause for my father's waning will. His reason probably because he's lonely.

His true friend and brother was sent to heaven by C-virus. My uncle is his peer and the one he can look up to. His position in church as Elder and Founder making it difficult for him to make connections with another person.

It is not that he don't want to get close with others. People see him up high in pedestal making them feels awkward to get close. 

His health also making his time to socialize limited. He need to rest after 4PM. He can't handle the cold of a tropical country. That's why he also can't comeback to his birthplace. Toba lake is too cold for him.

I think his deteriorating health is ridiculous. Only couple of weeks and he has lost weight. The problem is absolutely on his mind.

Why can't he think like Apostle Paul? Life is for Christ and death is my gain?

Oh, well. What a powerful thing this thought can be!