Start Living the Good Life!

Whitney Hopler

Editor's Note: This article summarizes the practical applications of Philip Carlson's recent book, Love Written in Stone: Finding God’s Grace in the Boundaries He Sets, (Bethany House, 2011).

Our culture in this fallen world tries to convince you that the “good life” – the life you’ll most enjoy – comes from pursuing pleasure. But God’s biblical commands often stand in stark contrast to pursuing pleasure, so God can seem like a cosmic killjoy who wants to hinder your pursuit of the good life.

By asking you to follow His commands, God isn’t trying to prevent you from living the good life; He’s trying to prevent you from falling victim to dangers He knows can harm you. As your loving Father, God wants what’s best for you – the ultimate “good life” – and that’s only possible when you recognize the love behind His commands and start following them.

So don’t settle for anything less in your life than what’s truly best. Here’s how you can change your perspective on God’s commandments to start living the good life that God intends for you:

Are You Empty and Weary?

“The conclusion, when all is heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person.” - Ecclesiastes 12:13

Do you ever feel like you’ve done it all? Success, wealth, pleasure, thrills and yet you feel empty inside? 

Solomon, the ancient king of Israel, was such a man. He had extraordinary success and wealth, incredible intellect, more women and sex than Wilt Chamberlain, and yet it all became meaningless to him. He felt so empty inside because he turned his back on God to pursue all that he wanted for himself. He was a classic example of a good man who started strong, but turned wrong and wound up empty.

Finding the Proper Place for Sexual Fire

Aaron McCarter
aaronmccarter.com

This verse applies in so many 

ways: "Can a man carry fire 

next to his chest and his 

clothes not be burned?"

Proverbs holds a view of romance, marriage, and sex that was counter-cultural back then, and it’s counter-cultural now. In Proverbs, the highest possible value is placed on faithfulness and friendship in marriage. I’m not entirely sure those are the leading ideas in culture at large today.

The Danger Of Sexual Temptation
Keep in mind that Proverbs was written as a manual for boys, so most of the advice is directed toward men. Don’t let that throw you off though, because even though men were the audience, this stuff is universally applicable.