It is for this reason people spend 5+ days a week working, for two (or less) days of enjoyment. We pour everything into gaining what we need in order to have fun. We do all we can so that at the end of our life we can say, "That was enjoyable."
Yes, we value our priority to provide for our families. And yes, we say we want our lives to be one that helps the world become a better place. But all this ties around the fact that we all want to be able to say that we had a good life; one that we can honestly say we enjoyed.
If you reflect on your past- (if your young, you have less reflecting to do, but your time will come)- you will notice that the memories you cherish most involve people.
Birthday parties with friends...
Accomplishments shared with coworkers...
Family vacations...
Romantic evenings with a special someone...
Christmas mornings with the family...
If people have been the center of our joyous memories, why do we live as if the money we make determines the joy we experience? Can you only enjoy the company of a person while on a roller-coaster with them? Or can that same person be just as enjoyable sitting on your couch? Is it the surrounding environment and situation that makes you enjoy somebody, or is it something more?
It irks me when parents spend so much time working, that they neglect their children. It's as if they think they can spend the next 10 years of their life working real hard, and then treat their children to all the luxuries that come along with wealth. The truth is, time ISN'T money. It's worth so much more. We will never be able to change what we did yesterday, but we can use it as an example for tomorrow.
Once again, if people have been the center of our joyous memories, then we should place a higher importance on the role people play in our everyday life. And when we do this, we display one of God's most evident characteristic: A Love for People.
In the last post I quoted John 10:10b:
"I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."
Jesus says he came to give us an abundant life. Not to enjoy a vacation, or to provide for his family, or to experience romance. He came for people. Now, an abundant life can include all of the above, but I have a feeling that what this Jesus guy meant was that if we correctly prioritize the values we place on different proponents of life, we will enjoy it to the full. Not only to the full, but forever.
No matter what religious system you belong to, in your own way you wish to enjoy life to the full. I would even go as far as to say that if life were enjoyable to this capacity, you'd even want to live forever. Life, as it appears now through these worldly lens, is not something we'd want to have forever. But when we take off the distorted glasses we've put on because of sufferings, we see how beautiful life can be if lived correctly.
This leads me to my closing question.
What does an abundant life look like to you?
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