The Smart Way to Live
Throughout history people have been trying to figure out what is the best way to live. It is interesting that each generation of young people seems to think they have discovered some new cool way of living involving partying, drinking, and sexual freedom but the truth is this way of life have been around a long time. Thousands of years ago King Solomon tried the full extent of experimentation with this kind of life style. Of course he was not the only one, but he had the resources to try this lifestyle at a level folks in Hollywood can only dream of and he recorded his experiences and conclusions for us. King Solomon tried one way of living, and the apostle Paul gave another entirely different way to live. I summarize his philosophy of life with four words, all beginning with the letter ³L.² As I have mentioned in previous articles, I don¹t have time to make all the mistakes in life myself, so lets be wise and learn from those who have gone before us. King Solomon first explored just raw pleasure. ³I said to myself, Come on, let¹s try pleasure. Let¹s look for the good things¹ in life¹² (Ecclesiastes 2:1.) He tried drinking and found it cheered him up for a bit, but then left him worse off than before. He concluded that getting drunk was the only happiness many people have in life, but that lifestyle was a waste and just foolishness. Unfortunately many in our day have not learned this basic lesson and are ruining their lives, families, and their future for a short-term buzz. We don¹t have tens of thousands of people in Alcoholics Anonymous because this is a great way to live. Solomon, like many men, then decided that sex was the ticket to a fulfilling life. He was able to explore this in ways not possible today. Over time he accumulated 700 official wives, and because that was not enough for him, he also had another 300 concubines. With 1000 women at his disposal, and no one refused the king or had a headache, he could have sex with a different woman every night for almost three years before he had to recycle anyone. Solomon said, ³Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure² (Ecclesiastes 2:10.) He also tried wealth and riches, and fame and power. He concluded, ³But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaninglesslike chasing the wind² (Ecclesiastes 2:11.) God revealed to the Apostle Paul a different way to live as we wait for the return of Christ. Paul said ³we urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live in a way that pleases God² (1 Thessalonians 4:1.) If you were wondering what kind of living pleases God, Paul answers by saying it is a life of holiness. He specifically tells us to not get drunk on wine. He plainly says to stay away from all sexual sin and for us to learn to control our own bodies and impulses. The first ³L² in Paul¹s philosophy is live. Jesus and Paul say live life to the fullest. This is not just trying harder, but allowing the Holy Spirit to control you and free you from sin and addictive behaviors that rob you of life. This is the abundant overflowing life God offers us. Live life to the fullest. Live life free. Live life holy. I don¹t want to just exist day to day; I want a meaningful, fulfilling life. And God¹s way is the only way to experience that. The next three ³L² words coming soon.
