Leap to Death

"I have owed to too many people. The amount of burden I have caused to them is too great. I can't begin to fathom the countless agonies down the road. The rest of my life would only be a burden for others. I am unable to do anything because of poor health. I can't read books, nor can I write. Do not be too sad. Isn't life and death all part of nature? Do not be sorry. Do not feel resentment toward anyone. It is fate. Cremate me. And leave only a small tombstone near home. I've thought this for a while." These were the words written in the suicide note of former South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun.

 

A self-made man from a farming family, Roh failed to obtain a university degree, but qualified for and passed the bar examination. He served as a judge and practiced law. In 1981 after seeing students being tortured he left the ‘comfortable life as a lawyer…and became a man that wanted to make a difference."

 

His defeats were as many as the elections he put himself as a candidate; but campaigning on a "Mr Clean" image and gaining the support of the youth, he won the 2002 presidential election by a margin of 2% against his opponent. But as much as he wanted to pursue lofty goals for his country, politics and the economy did not favour him; and he eventually bowed out of office as an unpopular leader. The demise of his political career did not end the controversy surrounding his presidency with charges of corruption pursued against him and family members. On May 23 2009, while doing his regular jogging, he jumped from a 30-meter high cliff known as Bueong'i Bawi behind his rural home in the village of Bongha. He left the suicide note prior to his leap to death. Carrying the burden by himself, Roh lost in life.

 

We owe our life not from people, but from God who wants it to be fully lived. "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they have it more abundantly." (John 10:10) Thus the one who whispers in the conscience to take one’s life is the thief – the devil. Death is certain but when and how we die is not within our control; the One who breathes life into us decides when to take it back. When we follow the road of life God has paved for us, then when we reach the end, we pass from death to the promised eternal life. "Verily, verily I say unto you, he that heareth My Word and believeth in Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life." (John 5:24)

 

Carring the burden by himself, Roh lost in life. He should have allowed God to help him in the burden he carried. "Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved." (Psalm 55:22) He could have still made a difference; but that was not meant to be. We can only pray for God to forgive him and save his soul.

by Mel Libre