“There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.”

Ecclesiastes 2:24

LIFE CAN BE GOOD

By Jay H. Graham

From the Chapel Glen Church of Christ Bulletin

I recently wrote that true fulfillment can only come by serving others rather than serving ourselves or fulfilling our flesh. In this article I want to make clear that we can still enjoy our physical blessings, for this certainly is also part of God’s plan. Our primary focus in this life must be spiritually related, but this does not automatically negate enjoying the physical blessings that God has provided for us. It is simply a matter of priorities. Therefore, if our priorities are well established in the Lord, we will also enjoy our physical life. As a matter of fact, when our spiritual prioritizes are founded in the Lord and His will for our lives, we can enjoy life much more than those who’s priorities are based by indulging in the flesh and its weaknesses. This is one of the reasons why the Lord urges us to live according to His standards.

There once was a philosophy from the Roman Church that decried all physical enjoyment. They taught the carnal was considered sin no matter what it was, and accordingly, enjoyment of the carnal was also a sin. While the Scriptures do warn us of the carnal, they do not automatically claim the carnal as sin, but rather God’s Word speaks strongly against LIVING in the carnal as a priority as taught in Romans 8:6-8--“For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” I believe there is a difference.

A good example of enjoying life is enjoying the fruits of our labors. God has given us many physical blessings, and one of the greatest of these is our ability to live by the fruits of our labors. Consider Psalm 128. It talks about enjoying the physical life including the “labor of your hands” and your children and grandchildren. Consider Ecclesiastes 2:24-25-- “Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God. For who can eat, or who can have enjoyment, more than I?”

Now, do not misunderstand me, I am not necessarily referring to possessions. In our society today we tend to emphasize possessions more than we should. Certainly, they can make our lives comfortable, but comfort is not necessarily what provides joy. Consider that many of the unhappiest people are those that have everything they “want”. The outcome of having everything we thing we want is usually unhappiness, for we seem to want more and more. Consider also that not all inhabitants of the earth perhaps have as much as we do and can in this country, but they still can have true happiness and fulfillment, physical and spiritual. These do not hinge on physical possessions but on the attitude of the mind and heart toward God and what He has provided for us in spite our physical environment.

This is not to say that we will not have problems and trials, for we most certainly will. The issue though is that if our attitudes are as they should be, we will be better able to handle our troubles and enjoy life much more than if we did not have problems to deal with. What helps provide joy is a mental state of contentment. This is why Paul could say, “and having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.” The problem with our society is that we do not tend to appreciate the basic things in life, because we have so much.

How can we keep covetousness and greed from affecting our lives? By being thankful for all God gives us. A sign of discontentment is a lack of thanksgiving which is often portrayed by complaining. This may be the very curse of our society. In my mind our nation has a lack of thanksgiving and appreciation of what we have. This in light of the fact that we have SO MUCH! If we are truly thankful for God’s physical blessings we will be content, and we will not complain, no matter our physical state.

Let us always remember that our purpose on this earth is to serve and glorify God (Acts 17:26-28), and if we truly attempt to serve and glorify the Lord, we will enjoy our relationship with Him, others, and our physical blessings in this life as well.