Is it wrong to be dead?
Let's put aside for the moment the common definition of the word "death" (as when Paul says, "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death" I Cor. 15:26). Instead, let's consider death as the ending of those rigidly held mortal ways of being that we believe we can't do without, but which actually weigh against our real well-being.
Paul speaks of this death in I Corinthians, where he says, "I die daily." I Cor. 15:31. From this man's letters to his Christian companions in the early churches, it's apparent that he considered the elimination of unchristian character traits a fundamental proof of the divine Word's power.
