Do you know people who just seem to enjoy life? They’re always smiling, they always have plans or activities they’re pursuing and they always seem happy about it. This world will give you thousands of ways to enjoy life, most of them centered around self. “Do what makes you happy and you’ll enjoy life.” Several beverage companies over the years have adopted variations of the phrase “enjoy life” as their slogans, as if having one of their drinks will cause you to enjoy life. What does the Bible say about enjoying life?
“For the Scriptures say, ‘If you want to enjoy life and see many happy days, keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it.’” (1 Peter 3:10-11)
Peter was quoting from Psalm 34 when he wrote this passage, passing on wisdom from King David. Each of these instructions for enjoying life are worth a lifetime’s pursuit. Keep your tongue from speaking evil—that means no cursing, no back talking, no gossiping, no speaking an ill word against anyone—even politicians you don’t like.
“‘If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.’” (Matthew 5:22b)
Keep your lips from telling lies, another pursuit that could take a lifetime to achieve. This not only means don’t tell blatant lies, but don’t tell little white lies and don’t lie by omission, leaving out the parts that make you look flawed—both in life and on social media. Turn away from evil and do good—notice the action of actually doing good. You can’t be passively good, you must do good—it takes work and effort on our part. Search for peace and work to maintain it—it takes work to maintain peace, it’s not going to happen without effort. This means putting effort into those relationships that may not be peaceful. If you want to enjoy life and see many happy days, this list is a good place to start.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.