Choose Life

Here are a few scripture passages from Proverbs, a book of the Bible which has much to say about the art of living. Perhaps you have realized there is more to life than how you compare to other people in ways the world considers important — power, wealth, relationships. Proverbs teaches that living well has to do not just with what you have but what you do with what you have. There is a difference between expressing love to other people and leeching off of people; between enjoying things and merely possesing them; between making a difference and attaining a position. There is a difference between loving the light and loving darkness; between the way of the righteous and the way of the wicked. There is a difference between life and death. Life is commonly thought of as physical existence, and how good your life is is thought of as how much power, sex and stuff you manage to accumulate before it runs out, or how much knowledge or entertainment you can experience. But life is a precious gift from God, a gift which defies definition. And its quality actually has little if anything to do with what we associate with “the good life”. It does have a great deal to do with how closely we adhere to the way of our Creator.

Choosing the way of life, God’s way, does not come naturally to us, because of our sinful nature. Yet we can sense that this way is better — better for us and for others around us. At times when we are more successful in following this way, we can see the difference it makes.

God, through His Word, encourages us to follow His way and assures us that it is better than the way of sin.

Proverbs 2

This chapter is worth quoting in its entirety:

My son, if you receive my words
and treasure up my commandments with you,
making your ear attentive to wisdom
and inclining your heart to understanding;
yes, if you call out for insight
and raise your voice for understanding,
if you seek it like silver
and search for it as for hidden treasures,
then you will understand the fear of the LORD
and find the knowledge of God.
For the LORD gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
he stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
he is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
guarding the paths of justice
and watching over the way of his saints.

Then you will understand righteousness and justice
and equity, every good path;
for wisdom will come into your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
discretion will watch over you,
understanding will guard you,
delivering you from the way of evil,
from men of perverted speech,
who forsake the paths of uprightness
to walk in the ways of darkness,
who rejoice in doing evil
and delight in the perverseness of evil,
men whose paths are crooked,
and who are devious in their ways.

So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman,
from the adulteress with her smooth words,
who forsakes the companion of her youth
and forgets the covenant of her God;
for her house sinks down to death,
and her paths to the departed;
none who go to her come back,
nor do they regain the paths of life.

So you will walk in the way of the good and keep to the paths of the righteous.
For the upright will inhabit the land,
and those with integrity will remain in it,
but the wicked will be cut off from the land,
and the treacherous will be rooted out of it. (Proverbs 2, ESV)

“Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path…” The wisdom that comes from God enables us to understand what is right, just and fair. It enables us to understand what is good — what is good to do and the way it is good to be — in our relationships with people, at our job, in handling finances, in what we do in our community, in everything.

The wisdom of God’s way helps us avoid the way of evil and people who love to walk in darkness, “who rejoice in doing evil and delight in the perverseness of evil…and who are devious in their ways”. It is apparent in our society, at least in America, that much entertainment glorifies evil; there is an attitude that has infiltrated society so insidiously that we have barely realized it, an attitude which commends or nods approvingly at the very perverseness of things which we all know are wrong. There is more ‘coolness’ or ’street-cred’ or ‘relevance’ or ‘you-fill-in-the-blank’ ascribed to things which are wrong or at least hint at wrong. And many will use any and every trick to get what they want. No one actually says, “You should be a devious person.” Yet that is what someone is really saying when they tell you, “If you aren’t cheating you aren’t trying.”

God’s advice: Don’t give in to this; be different. Distance yourself from it. Instead seek what is good and right and true. You will be better off. You may lose out on some of the world’s goodies. But remember, real life, the life which is really worth having, is not about having the world’s goodies.

Those who trust in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins receive the Holy Spirit, which gives us wisdom from God and guides us into the way of truth. The Spirit and the Word, together, teach and guide us into the good life.

The way of the wicked

Don’t the following verses contain a perfect description of the life of one who does wrong and doesn’t care?

Hold on to instruction, do not let it go;
protect it, because it is your life.
Do not enter the path of the wicked,
or walk in the way of those who are evil.
Avoid it, do not go on it;
turn away from it, and go on.
For they cannot sleep unless they cause harm;
they are robbed of sleep until they make someone stumble.
For they eat bread gained from wickedness
and drink wine obtained from violence.

But the path of the righteous is like the bright morning light,
growing brighter and brighter until full day.
The way of the wicked is like gloomy darkness;
they do not know what causes them to stumble. (Proverbs 4:13-19)

“…they are robbed of sleep until they make someone stumble.” It is sometimes said that you are not “really living” unless you do something morally questionable. Do not be someone who thinks this is true, because it is not really true for anyone.

“…they do not know what causes them to stumble.” How many people (and I have done this) have done what is wrong and then wondered why things in life are not going very well? There is no mystery as to why that is. The Word of God suggests that living in darkness obscures our vision so that we cannot even understand what is really going on.

Perhaps for some people, such a situation might be a kind of escape from things that have happened in their life that they want to run from. But there is a better way to escape and a better life to escape to. The Bible calls it The Way. Let Jesus introduce you to it. He says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30, ESV)

A warning against adultery

No discussion of the difference between having a life where you are actually alive, and a “life” where you are really little more than the walking dead, would be complete without talking about something that is a serious problem even among believers: sexual immorality. Many pastors seem to be afraid to address it. We will not shy away from it here.

Though this passage deals mainly with adultery, it is applicable to all situations where people are doing sexual acts with each other in situations outside of marriage.

For these commands are a lamp,
this teaching is a light,
and the corrections of discipline
are the way to life,
keeping you from the immoral woman,
from the smooth tongue of the wayward wife.
Do not lust in your heart after her beauty
or let her captivate you with her eyes,
for the prostitute reduces you to a loaf of bread,
and the adulteress preys upon your very life.
Can a man scoop fire into his lap
without his clothes being burned?
Can a man walk on hot coals
without his feet being scorched?
So is he who sleeps with another man’s wife;
no one who touches her will go unpunished. (Proverbs 6:23-29, NIV)

Many houses have fireplaces in which to set a fire. Fire, if kept in its place, can give warmth and be very enjoyable. But if it is not kept in its place, but is, for example, set in the middle of the room, just because we don’t want to be limited to the fireplace and want to try something different, the results can be disastrous.

Sex, in the same way, is a gift from God that can, if not kept in its place, leave a trail of spiritual, relational, emotional and physical devastation through our lives and our families. We see a lot of this in many areas of the world, including America. Part of the problem often is the breakdown of the family and particularly the lack of a morally credible father figure and male leader.

Perhaps you have made your share of mistakes in the past. It is not too late to make a change, if you’ll let God do the changing by the power of His Spirit. It is not too late to start really living.

Perhaps you are a young person with your whole life ahead of you. Perhaps you have struggled with this, and part of the reason has been the chaotic situation you have had to grow up in — the lack of a strong, stable family. Well, if we are going to have strong, loving families, it has to start somewhere. It could start with you. Take God’s commands, His teaching, His guidance to heart. Line your life up with it and build your life on it.

Perhaps you are a committed Christian who has tasted the good life, the abundant life in Christ Jesus. But you have stumbled badly and wonder what it means for your relationship with God and your future as His child. Be encouraged that God finishes what He starts. He started a work in you when you put your faith in Christ. And “those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; and those he called, he also justified; and those he justified, he also glorified.” (Romans 8:29-30) The first step is to take the remorse and discouragement you feel and channel it toward repentance to God. “But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous, forgiving us our sins and cleansing us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

*****

If you haven’t already done so, put your faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Let the Holy Spirit have room to move in your heart and in your life. Let it teach you wisdom.

Ask God for wisdom. Seek it as you would seek hidden treasure. Build your life on God’s Word. Seek to walk in the light and shun the darkness. Be dead to the world but alive to God. Avoid the world’s way of death — the love of darkness, the glorification of might over right, the glamorization of the very perversness of evil, the self-centeredness and predatory opportunism — which clatters noisily like so many skeletons.

Seek to be as God is — loving, righteous, just, merciful. Seek to do what is good, right, fair and true. Express, in attitudes and actions, the love of Christ toward family, friends, coworkers and strangers. Let the Word guide you and the Holy Spirit empower you in this.

And as you do, may

The LORD bless you and protect you;
The LORD make his face to shine upon you,
and be gracious to you;
The LORD lift up his countenance upon you
and give you peace. (Numbers 6:24-26)