Dear Brethren,
I was recently at a little restaurant with my wife while on vacation, where she and I took the
opportunity to connect. This kind of evening out is an activity that we regularly practice about twice a month, and which we made a point of continuing while we were away from home. We call it our “Big Ideas and Goals Date”, or “BIG Date” for short, during which we take time to discuss our ambitions individually, together as a married couple, and as a family. It is a simple event that helps us continue to grow together, stay accountable to one another, and keep each other on track. We normally come away from our BIG Date feeling a renewed sense of purpose and encouragement. This date while on vacation was no exception. We came away mutually uplifted, having discussed the most meaningful parts of our life, along with many other light-hearted topics. We could have been anywhere and had a similar result. Just being together is the only necessary ingredient.
During our brief stay at the restaurant, we noticed another family come in to dine. My wife recognized one of them as an Instagram celebrity, who has over 10 million followers. While she is not necessarily recognizable as a household name, since she has accumulated over 10 million followers, she gets a lot of attention from many people who she doesn’t know. Being one of those followers, Shana was familiar with her public-facing life. Her Instagram posts show a variety of her life’s adventures and activities, many of which are objectively fantastic. It’s enough to induce envy in the millions of her followers.
Contemplating this, I reflected on how easily our carnal nature can fall into the trap of observing others with a publicly glamorous profile and think “What an amazing life! If only that could be me! Now that would be the ‘good life’”.
What was interesting to me at that moment was that even though we had very different public
profiles, we were in the same modest restaurant doing many of the same things at the same time—eating, talking, and enjoying an evening together with the people we love. These are the kinds of things which are accessible to anyone. My wife and I were arguably enjoying the time as much or even more than this celebrity and her family. We too were enjoying the same modest pleasures as this celebrity who lives the so-called “good life”. I dare say that we live better.
How can I say that? The answer lies in understanding what the “good life” really consists of. Extravagant luxuries that the rich and famous enjoy might be nice, but they utterly fail to provide lasting satisfaction. Solomon, who was both wise and affluent, reflected on the deceptive allure of riches, “The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, Whether he eats little or much; But the abundance of the rich will not permit him to sleep” (Ecclesiastes 5:12). A simple life has simple problems. But a famous profile demands maintaining a public presence that can increase pressure and worry. The Bible makes it clear that affluence alone is insufficient to compose the good life.
So then, what does it take to live a truly good life? It relates to how we live, not what our lives consist of. Our life overflows with an abundance of good when we have love for God and love for others. “He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8). If we want to experience a life filled with goodness, we show love for one another through merciful compassion and by treating others according to God’s standard. This is how we define love for others. To walk humbly with God encapsulates how we cultivate our relationship with Him. Submitting willfully to His authority in obedience shows love for Him and His commandments. The way of life that consistently demonstrates love for others and God is definitively good!
There is a positive outcome that results from living in this way as well. Peter quotes the Psalms when explaining the way God instructs us to live. “Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. For ‘He who would love life And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn away from evil and do good; Let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the LORD is against those who do evil’” (1 Peter 3:8-12). To have a life that we love and to see good days necessarily starts by investing in godly living. Without this investment, we won’t experience the joyful delight of the real good life.
Being members in the Church of the Eternal God and its international affiliates, we have an advantage that is invisible, even inaccessible to those who live according to worldly measures of success. To them, the good life is an elusive pursuit offering only passing pleasures with no durable result. But as those called out of the world, God grants understanding that gives us a confident path to follow to live the best possible life. A life elevated above the meaningless accumulation of followers on social media and material possessions. A life filled with inherent goodness because we practice righteousness. A life of joy because we understand God’s plan and play an important part within it. This is a mystery to the world, but a powerful reality to us.
These things are familiar reminders to us. Perhaps even tiresome reminders. However, we have need for encouragement. Even though we have an advantage in understanding that we can live the good life every day by the instructions given to us, Satan constantly threatens to steal it from us through discouragement. “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:9-10).
My heartfelt intention in writing this letter is to offer you the encouragement that you need to hold on tightly to your crown. Doing good might sometimes feel like a one-sided endeavor without any return on investment. If we’re not careful, it can cause us to lose heart. But the Word of God helps us to know better. We have a great life to live if we acknowledge God’s gift of understanding the Truth and if we use it to guide our path.
In Christ’s Service,
Eric Rank