Living the Good Life....

Have you noticed that the world's definition of the "good life" hinges on temporary things? The world says we should be happy and enjoying life if we're 1) looking good 2) feeling good and 3) having goods. So what happens when we have a bad hair day, a depressing and frustrating day and our goods break or go out of style? Are we no longer able to live the good life? The Bible says the Christian life should be filled with goodness, not goods. Goodness means "fulfilling a purpose."


Ever wonder why God's reaction to His creation in Genesis 1 was "...and God saw that it was good"? Based on the definition of goodness, we can believe that God was pleased that His creation was fulfilling the purpose for which it was created. He looked around and saw that things were going according to His plan and He liked what He saw! Ephesians 2:10 tells us that "We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." When we are fulfilling our purpose and developing goodness in our lives, God is pleased with His creation. Remember, we are not saved by our good works, we are saved to do good works!


When it comes to doing good works, we don't have to look far to realize that people are not naturally good! Despite what the humanistic teachings want us to believe, we are not born instinctively good. According to Titus 3:14, we must "learn to do what is good." Here are five things we must learn to do in order to live the good life - one that fulfills our purpose and pleases God:

1) Master the Bible by becoming a student of God's Word. 2 Timothy 3:16 reminds us that God's Word equips us to do good works. If we want to please God and fulfill our purpose, we must know His Word!

2) Guard your mind - learn to control your thought life. Sin always starts in the mind so we must watch what we put into our mind via our eyes and ears.

3) Develop conviction - know what you stand for and why. An opinion is something you hold. A conviction is something that holds you. Many people have opinions, but few would be willing to suffer or even die for their convictions.

4) Muster the courage to be different - you don't have to "go along" to get along! Third John 11 says "Do not imitate/follow what is evil but what is good."

5) Meet with other believers. Jesus' prayer for His disciples in John 17:15 applies to us as well. He prays that God will protect us from evil. One of the most powerful means He uses to insulate us is the body of believers. We can't learn goodness through isolatation or imitation.


Did you notice that all these steps take an effort on our part? We must master, guard, develop, muster and meet in order to learn to do good. Be encouraged by Galatians 6:9 - "Let us not grow weary in well doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."


Go out and make it a GOOD day regardless of how you look, feel or what you have! If you are fulfilling God's purpose and learning to do the good works He created you to do, than nothing the world can offer will ever replace the goodness in your life.