The Good Life

What makes for the good life? While many would think of the Bible as only a religious text, much of its message is directed at creating the good life. Consider Jesus Himself. His Sermon on the Mount is full of practical wisdom on what is necessary to not only please God, but to have a happy, a blessed, life. Not only in the words of Jesus, the words of the rest of the Bible contain a lot of information about what it takes to live well. So, beyond having our physical needs met, what makes for the good life?

One of the key cornerstones to living well is having something important to do. In the creation narrative in Genesis, Adam is given an important task. One might suggest he was the first botanist. He gave names and classified the created order. The value of having an important task continues throughout the Old and New Testaments. In the book of Proverbs especially, work is seen as central to making a good life. In my experience as a pastor, every time I meet someone miserable in their work, the misery has bled into the rest of their lives. Frustration at work yields misery in life. On the contrary, the ability to find meaning in one’s work leads to living well. 

Another key component of the good life is high quality relationships. Looking again at the Genesis narrative, God said, “It is not good for man to be alone.” Loneliness and the fear of living alone are two great components of sadness. Of course, as the Proverbs would remind us, it is better to be alone that to be in destructive relationships. It is not enough to have relationships; they must be of a healthy quality. 

The most important aspect of having the good life is having a connection to God. For thousands of years, philosophers, sages, gurus, and religious leaders attempted to connect people to God. The difficulty is that connecting to God is beyond the capacity of any human being. God is beyond us. If we were able to see God, it would boggle the mind. Those few souls in the Bible who experienced God directly we gob smacked. Frankly, they would rather have not. It was simply a terrifying experience because God is God. The only way humans can connect to God is if God comes to us and connects to us. Fortunately, God did. In the person of Jesus Christ, God has come to us to love use 

While there are other important parts to a good life, having meaningful work, having whole relationships, and having a connection to God are three pillars to living well.