BiblicalInsights.net

The human mind is a terrible thing to waste!  We can fill our minds with mundane information that will not enhance our lives.  Or, we can fill our minds with useful, magnificent truths that will guide us through life and prepare us for eternity.  Almost everyone has heard the phrase, “just google it.”  The word google is used as a verb in that phrase.  But, Google is a noun that describes a search engine on the internet.  The noun Google is derived from the word googol which was named by Milton Sirotta, the nephew of the American mathematician Edward Kasner.  Kasner was working with very large numbers and in particular the number 10 to the 100th power (a 1 with 100 zeroes after it).  Kasner felt it deserved a name and so he asked his nephew to invent a word for the large number.  Milton made up the word googol and so the enormous word was given this descriptive term.  The name Google signifies how much information the originators believed they could catalog.  The information on the internet is a large collection of data that is not cohesive.  Information that lacks meaning.  Knowledge on the other hand is different.  Knowledge is information that has been processed into a cohesive whole.  We can further divide knowledge into two groups:  secular and sacred.  God’s Word is knowledge of God.  It is knowledge of the holy (II Tim. 3:15).  It is knowledge of truth (John 17:17).  It is essential knowledge (John 12:48) because it will be used in Judgment.  Knowledge of the sacred holds a higher place and is more significant than secular knowledge.  A person can know much information about various aspects of the world that we live in but that information does not save the soul from the servitude to and consequences of sin.  Only the knowledge of the sacred informs us of God’s plan of salvation and our part in that plan (II Tim. 3:15; James 1:21).  The Christian mind is rich with the sacred truths from God that will guide it to heaven.  The Christian mind is the mind of Christ (Phil. 2:5-11).  There are three aspects of the mind of Christ that are worth considering.
First, truth vs. relativity.  If you don’t know the truth, you don’t know anything!  The opposite of truth is lies.  Lies can fill the human mind with a lot of information, but it is worthless and useless.  The basic idea of postmodernism is that you can create your own reality or your own truth.  Truth becomes subjective and is self-determined.  This leads to moral relativity and a redefinition of what it means to be human.  Some information is evil and detrimental to the human soul.  The human mind can become corrupted and deceived.  The corrupted mind is reflected in our present culture when we have lost the ability to define a man and a woman.  We have lost the basic ability to discern gender identity.  Gender identity has become fluid and limitless in the postmodern mindset.  The truth of God’s Word declares that there are only two genders:  male and female (Mark 10:6).  The corrupted mind is seen in that we have lost the ability to determine right from wrong.  Moral relativity prevails in our present culture.  However, the Word of God is clear about what constitutes sin and what comprises righteousness (Gal. 5:19-23-the works of the flesh contrasted with the fruit of the Spirit).  The mind of Christ was saturated with truth. Truth is synonymous with the Word of God (John 17:17).  This body of sacred knowledge comes from God and is objective -not self-determined.   Jesus used the Scriptures authoritatively and decisively (Matt. 4:1-11; 13:1314-15; 22:29-32).  Jesus did not equivocate on gender identity (Mark 10:6).  He did not call evil good and good evil (Matt. 5-7).   God has spoken unto us through His Son (Heb. 1:1-3).  Jesus is the Son of God and possesses the authority to bind and loose.  Jesus is truth (John 14:14).  His life and His teaching give us knowledge of the sacred that can save us from condemnation and give us hope beyond this life.  Truth is corrective of the profane mind and transforms the mind so that it conforms to the thoughts and ideas of God (Rom. 12:1-2).
Second, spiritual vs. a carnal mind.    The Christian mind is spiritual not carnal.  The carnal mind pursues the flesh (lusts of the flesh) while the spiritual mind is led by the Spirit and follows the sacred things of God.  The carnal mind is worldly, sensual, devilish (James 3:15).  The carnal mind pursues the works of the flesh (Gal. 5:19-21).  The works of the flesh are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like.  Paul further exposes the carnal mind in I Cor. 3:1-3.  Strife, envyings and divisions flow from the carnal mind and are obstacles to the spiritual mind.  The spiritual mind is led by the Spirit of God through the word of God (Rom. 8:14).   The spiritual mind knows God.  It knows the truth revealed by God.  It knows Jesus Christ the savior of the world.  Jesus’ mind was saturated with spiritual promises and precepts.  He knew the will of God and acted on it with humility of heart and obedience (Phil. 2:5-11). This produced selflessness and service in sacred acts of sacrifice.  The Christian mind is selfless and sacrificial.
Third, righteous vs. reprobate.   In Rom. 1:28, Paul describes the profane mind that has rejected God as reprobate.  The word reprobate means morally reprehensible.  A mind that is sin-sick because it is sin-saturated.  If we reject God, God allows us to pursue every sinful, wicked and evil thing imaginable.  Later in Romans 1, Paul enumerates 23 sins (Rom. 1:28-32).  In contrast, the mind of Christ was holy, pure, and just.  Jesus’ mind is aptly described by Paul in Phil. 2:5-11 and in Phil. 4:8, he indicates the Christian mind which focuses on: “whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report…”  These things are virtuous.  These are the things that the human mind is enriched by and that enhance life now and prepare it for eternity.  Jesus lived a sinless life.  His mind had to be pure to produce a virtuous life of holiness (Heb. 4:15; I Pet. 2:22).  Only the pure in heart will see God (Matt. 5:8).
In 2005, the most popular Google searches were: Janet Jackson, Xbox 360, Brad Pitt, Michael Jackson, American Idol, and Angelina Jolie.  You can have a lot of information about these people, but it doesn’t rise above the mundane.  The human mind must be illuminated by the word of God in order to benefit from the wisdom which is from above and experience the sublime truths given to us from God.  All information is not profitable.  Some information is evil.  Knowledge of the secular may help you get a job.  But, only knowledge of the sacred will save your soul!

How would you define the good life?  Do you think that it would be to have plenty of money to do whatever you wanted to do?  More play and less work?  Self-indulgence, but not to the point of self-destruction? Being the envy of your neighbors?  Success, yes, but how do you define success?  What do you really want out of life?
God’s word defines the good life.  Psalm 34:11-14 and I Peter 3:10-11 point us in the right direction.  Psalm 34 was written by David and Peter wrote I Peter 3 and quoted David’s Psalm.  The Psalm invites us to consider the aspects of the good life.  There is the invitation, the explanation, the question and the answer.
First, the invitation is given.  “Come, ye children, hearken unto me….”  Are you interested?  Listen and learn.  Your life begins to be shaped by who you listen to.  What voice(s) direct your choices?  Each person is a collection of voices.  We have those voices in our memories and they affect our thinking and our decisions.  Most of us can recall what our parents have taught us.  We can remember the words of our grandparents or other family members.  Add the voices of good teachers and friends.  Who are you listening to?  The wisdom from above comes from God.  If we are not listening to God, can we say that we are pursuing the good life?  The invitation has been extended.  You have to answer.  What will your answer be?
Second, the explanation is given.  “I will teach you the fear of the LORD.”  This sounds like a great life lesson.  What does it mean?  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge (Proverbs 1:7).  Knowledge of God, God’s Will, life itself, and the good life of course.  Life’s decisions are based on what we know.  When we know the truth and utilize it, our decisions become more attuned to God’s wisdom.  The fear of the LORD is a combination of love for God (adoration, affection, attachment and allegiance) and knowledge of God’s punitive power which produces reverence and godly fear (Heb. 12:28).  The good life is shaped by our attitude toward God.  The right attitude toward God is the pathway of wisdom.  The wrong attitude toward God is the pathway of fools.  The good life is shaped by the fear of the LORD.
Third, the question is given.  “What man is he that desireth life, and liveth many days, that he may see good?”  Let’s break this thought down.  “Desires life” means that he wants to live life to its fullest.  The optimal life is the spiritually optimal life (John 10:10).  Spiritual life comes from God and is given only by God to us.  Sin brings corruption, destruction, and death (both spiritual and physical).  Only God can redeem our soul and impart spiritual life.  Can we say we are living the good life if we are not spiritually regenerated?  “Loveth many days” refers to the length of life and its productivity.  The longer we live, the more fruitful we can be.  “See good” refers to experiencing the good.  God is good!  Good is defined by God.  God is morally perfect (holy).  God is infinite in goodness.  The goodness of God is the fountain of His grace toward us.  To be good is to be like God and manifest His nature and undefeatable, benevolent, goodwill.  Good is the opposite of evil.  God leads us in the pathway of righteousness.  If we are not following God, can we say that we are living the good life?
Fourth, the answer is presented to us.  There are four aspects to the answer.  “Keep thy tongue from evil” is the first aspect.  James 3:2-18 reveals that if we can control the tongue, we can control the entire body.  Self-control is an attribute of the good life.  All relationships depend upon being able to control the tongue.  Evil communications are destructive to the soul of man and destroy relationships with others and with God.  No wonder James says that the tongue is a fire and is set on fire of hell!  The good life must be characterized by speaking the truth and speaking words of encouragement and edification.  The second aspect is lips that speak no guile.  Guile is deceit.  Jesus said that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Matt. 12:34).  Out of an evil treasure, evil things are spoken.  Out of a good treasure, good things are spoken.  The good life is characterized by speaking the truth thus indicating a good heart.  Relationships are built upon trust and without truth there can be no trust.  The third aspect is departing from evil.  The only intrinsic evil is sin.  The good life is characterized by the pursuit of righteousness and godliness.  We must pursue love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (the fruits of the Spirit–Gal. 5:22-23).  We must reject every sinful attitude and behavior.  The good life is marked by Christlikeness.  Finally, David encourages us to seek peace and pursue it.  True peace is the tranquility of soul that fears nothing from God because it rests in God’s grace and love.  Spiritual peace is reconciliation to God.  Sinners live in enmity with God.  The righteous live in peace with God.  The good life is characterized by oneness with God where there is salvation, security, safety and peace.
The apostle Peter quotes this Psalm in I Pet. 3:10-11.  He defines the spiritually optimal life, indeed the Christian life, utilizing the words of David.  The good life is shaped by the voice of God.  It is shaped by an attitude of reverence and godly fear.  It is shaped by a pursuit of God and imitation of God.  It is shaped by self-control, a good heart, the pursuit of good not evil,  and peace with God through the redemption that was secured by the Lord Jesus Christ.  The good life is the Christian life.  All are invited to come and learn the wisdom from above that leads us to spiritual life now and eternal life in the world to come.