A good name is better than precious ointment,
and the day of death, than the day of birth.
–Ecclesiastes 7:1
“It is better to have character than to be a character.”
–Mitch Todd
I’m no Qoheleth (the teacher/speaker in Ecclesiastes), but those are my words of wisdom as I reflect on Dolly Parton’s passing.
Qoheleth’s words are good, too.
I am deeply afraid that when my time comes, I’ll be remembered more as “a character”. Someone spontaneous, a little counterculture and even rambunctious.
That was not Dolly’s defining characteristic.
I’m not the biggest fan, probably, but I did purchase her most recent album and really liked it. But for me, Dolly transcended music. She lived a life of character.
At first, she made “a name” for herself with amazing songs like “Jolene” and “I Will Always Love You”. But her name became almost synonymous with “good”. As in, good-hearted, good-natured, and doing lots and lots of good works.
She never stopped loving people, and seemed to just get better and better at it throughout her life.
Her death affected me more than I would have thought. In a world with so many “bad actors”, it hurts to lose such a good role model, an example one could aspire to.
I think that’s why Qoheleth says the day of death is better than the day of birth. For those with a “good name” — not celebrity, but character — the end of a life can be a celebration of the fruits of one’s labor.
That’s how I’d like to be remembered.
Hillary Clinton made a statement about Dolly, saying this:
“Dolly Parton did all the good she could, for all the people she could, for as long as ever she could.”
Hillary is a good United Methodist, and those words are a paraphrase of a saying attributed to none other than John Wesley.
That strangely warmed my heart.
When we reflect upon a good person’s life, however, it is not a time for comparison or a lament of the ways we’re not better. It is a time to gather inspiration, a time to grow in wisdom.
Perhaps that’s why we give books like Ecclesiastes the designation of “wisdom literature”.
In my church, we’re in the midst of a sermon series examining this fascinating book of the Bible. It offers a lot of challenges to the things we desire that won’t feed us, and the things we hold on to that can’t fulfill us.
I didn’t know the woman personally, but she struck me as someone who learned those lessons in her life.
I’m still working on it!
Today, I’m ready to double down on having character more than being one. Perhaps I can aspire to both.
Psalm 34 reminds us that “the Lord is good”. And in Genesis God called all of creation “very good”. Goodness is a crucial component of the divine character, and therefore should be part of yours and mine as children of God.
To honor God, and Dolly, let’s practice goodness. It’s something worth working on.
And by ‘work’,
I don’t just mean
from 9 to 5.
Have a great week,
Mitch
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