No One Leaves Himself Behind

“Who can predict the quality of life… in heaven in the great hereafter?” asked one worried observer. “Does it not depend on the quality of his present life? Are we not today determining, not so much whether we shall live forever, as how we shall live stands the open door…but when we have entered, how far shall we go….?”¹ Somewhere we have heard this said: If you would be comfortable in haven, you would be there. This would seem true to this extent: We choose company in which we are comfortable. The company we seek and enjoy and choose is exceedingly significant. But there is yet another very different side to this subject, and that concerns the kind of company we keep when we are alone with ourselves. This question come from an ancient source: “Why should we move to find countries and climates of another kind? What exile leaves himself behind?”² the answer is that no one leaves himself behind. We ourselves are constantly in our own company, and so should make ourselves the best possible kind of company. We should seek knowledge so that we can carry on intelligent conversation with ourselves. We should live so as to have a quiet and comfortable conscience. “There is nothing that a man can less afford to leave at home than his conscience or his good habits…,” said Richardson Packe.³ This is true of traveling—in time or in eternity. The company of others is important, but there is nothing more important than our own company and companionship because now and always and everlastingly we shall always be with ourselves. No one leaves himself behind.