About the living
"For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope; for a living dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they shall die, but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten." Eccelesiates 9:4-5

One of the most remarkable characteristics of the Bible is its ability to say a whopping lot of wisdom in 1-2 scriptures! The scriptures above tell me that in whateever situation a human person is living, life is better than death. They also tell me that the reward of heaven must be worked out with God as an act of faith in Jesus in this life because the rewards are no more after they die the first death of the human body. In other words, if a person dies in his or her sins, their fate for eternity is decided. Those Scriptures also tell me that praying to the dead as some religions do is a waste of time, since the "dead know not anything."