Skip to main content

Life Worth Living


I recently turned on the radio and caught a show already in progress.  A listener called in and the announcer asked the caller: “how do you make your living?”  I have no idea what the context was, but the phrase stirred my thinking.  While I was pretty sure I knew what the phrase meant, I decided to look it up on the web.

One web site indicated it is “to earn the money one needs to pay for housing, food, etc”.  Another put it this way:  “to earn enough income to support oneself and, if applicable, one's family”.

Just as I thought, it is a generally understood phrase related to your work and how you support yourself.  But “make your living” shouldn’t be confused with other aspects of living such as “living the life” or “living life”.  According to the web, “living the life” usually means that you are living in comfort with few problems or worries.  While “living life” usually suggests that you are making full use of what life is offering.

The web has some value as far as information goes, but what does the Word of God say about life and living?

In Proverbs 8:35, life and living have nothing to do with comfort or being free from problems or worries or even making full use of what life supposedly offers.  We find life, according to the writer of Proverbs, by finding wisdom.  Living life from God’s perspective then is actually a life that is filled with wisdom.

A “life that is truly life” is mentioned in 1 Timothy 6:19 and it is really quite counter intuitive.  It doesn’t involve riches but it involves being rich in good works.  It’s not about saving up for oneself but it’s about being generous and sharing with others.   

But I think the most powerful paradigm about life is found in John 10.  Jesus said that He came that we might have life and have it more abundantly (v. 10).   We sometimes park on that “abundant life” part and miss what comes next in the passage.  The next verse indicates that we have life because Jesus laid down His life for us.  

I could ask you how you make your living.  But maybe I should actually ask if you are really living.  And living life is not really just about comfort or it’s not just about making full use of what life has to offer but it actually starts with making full use of what Jesus is offering and then living as He would have us live.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

New Year Trash or Treasure?

You probably know the old saying:  “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”.  I am not going to try to prove or disprove it, just look at it from a different angle. Cheryl and I were recently walking on a beach in Florida .  A man was walking along with a bag and was picking up trash and putting it in the bag.  Was he picking up things of value? We also saw a different man walking along the same beach with a metal detector.  He would swing it back and forth and would occasionally stop and dig in the sand.  Was he looking for things of value? Both were intent.  Both were focused.  Both were diligent. I’m guessing that the one picking up trash was not looking for things of value.  I’m also guessing that, by picking up trash, he was valuing the beauty of the beach and didn’t want the trash to mar it.  The one with the metal detector, I’m guessing that he was not looking for metallic items of trash but was looking for...

Don't Get Tripped Up

I do enjoy traveling and I keep an eye out for good prices. I also enjoy looking at trends in travel. For a while, the travel industry focused their advertising on taking those trips that might be on your bucket list.   That faded a bit and I started seeing ads about taking the trip of a lifetime. I guess both those campaigns have been waning since I’ve been seeing information about taking an “epic” trip.   Recently I noticed the phrase “unforgettable trip” in advertising.   More recently, I’ve been seeing promotions about taking “sustainable” trips and even “reconnecting to our roots” trips. As I’ve been pondering these advertising campaigns, I thought I’d consider what their ideas encompass and then look at them from a spiritual perspective: 1.   “ Bucket list trips ” are based on a list of the experiences a person might hope to have before they “kick the bucket” (i.e. die).   While I can certainly come up with a bucket list of trips, I’m thinking a bu...

Above My Pay Grade!

We like things that we can study, know and understand.  Sometimes we find it difficult to accept that there are things that might be hidden from our knowledge and understanding. The Scriptures indicate that there are some things hidden by design:  “The Lord our God keeps certain things hidden. But he makes other things known to us and to our children forever. He does it so we can obey all the words of this law.”  (Deut 29:29) Some versions of the Bible translate the hidden things as “secret things”.  Regardless, there are things which have been revealed and things which are kept hidden from us and remain secret. We may chafe at having to deal with the fact that some things remain hidden, but that’s often when faith and trust come in.  The Psalmist wrote:   “O Lord , my heart is not lifted up, my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me.”  (Ps 131:1) The Psalmist seem to realize that th...