What A Life

The Bible often gives us good insights about living wholesome and happy lives. Sometimes the advice may seem impractical but once we try it, our lives become richer and fuller. For example, Jesus tells us to love our enemies and do good to those who persecute us. Many people dismiss this as impractical. However, if we follow Jesus counsel and let go of our involvement in the pain from the hurtful situation, we become free. Not to do this is to give up our freedom to the one who has hurt us. If we hold on to the pain, we live in the past.

A reader sent me some practical advice for good wholesome, Christian living. I have added my comments in the parentheses.

1.Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully. (The people whom I value in life are those who took time to help me. Most of the time it does not cost us anything except our time and a positive attitude toward the one we are helping.)

2.Marry a man/woman to whom you love to talk. As you get older, your conversational skills will be as important as any other.

3.Don’t believe all you hear. (Gossip can be deadly. Tearing another person down is so easy.) Don’t spend all you have or sleep all you want. (Discipline is an important part of our lives. Brian Tracy once said, “Time management requires self-discipline, self mastery, and self-control more than anything else.”)

4.When you say, “I love you,” mean it. (Love is more than a feeling. True love always wants what is best for the other. When we say, “I love you,” we are wanting for best for the beloved.)

5.When you say, “I’m sorry,” look the person in the eye. (This will show your sincerity.)

6.Be engaged at least six months before you get married. (We all grow up with the perfect male or female image within us. Often we project this image onto the person we meet. Many people marry the image they have project onto the other person. Only time and deep conversations can help us get to know the other’s true personality.)

7.Never laugh at anyone’s dream. People who don’t have dreams don’t have much. (Our dreams are our visions of what we want in life, the direction in which we are headed, our hopes for the future. Greg Anderson tells us to “focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.” Dream and get busy.)

8.Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it’s the only way to live life completely. (Henri J. M. Nouwen said, “Do not hesitate to love and to love deeply. You might be afraid of the pain that deep love can cause. When those you love deeply reject you, leave you or die, your heart will be broken. Nevertheless, that should not hold you back from loving deeply. The pain that comes from deep love makes your love ever more fruitful. It is like a plow that breaks the ground to allow the seed to take root and grow into a strong plant. Every time you experience the pain of rejection, absence or death, you are faced with a choice. You can become bitter and decide not to love again, or you can stand straight in your pain and let the soil on which you stand become richer and more able to give life to new seeds.)

9.In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling. (No two people will agree on everything. We all look at this world a little differently. Expand your world. Consider other person’s point of view.)