WHAT IS LIFE?

by Lynn Bradley

Published on this site: June 10th, 2005 - See more articles from this month...

Mankind has struggled with the purpose of life since the beginning of time. Some feel that life is pleasure, and everything is done to facilitate that end. Others would name work, relationships, family, money, and other things as the meaning of life. What do we mean by the term life? The Bible describes life as a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes. This is not dealing with the definition but the duration.

What is life, what does it consist of? What is the meaning? Why are we here? A popular song a few years ago asked the question "Is that all there is to life?" Ruining my health to make a few extra bucks, is that all there is to life? Is it just having parties at night and hangovers in the morning?

Someone might say "I sell the merchandise to earn the money to buy the food to nourish my body to sell the merchandise." That's not living; it's merely existing. Is life just working to have things you enjoy?

What is life? Another popular song says that "Life is just a bowl of cherries, don't take it seriously." Most of us agree that it is more than fruit but there is some truth to the rest of the statement. A lot of us take our self so seriously that we make ourselves and those around us miserable. Relax and take things as they come, or you may develop serious health problems.

You say you are unhappy with your lot in life. You are stuck with it. You might as well learn to live with it. Feeling sorry for yourself will only make you miserable. You can be content to the extent that you are doing the best you can with the present circumstances. Set a goal to change the negative things one at a time. Do the best you can with the ability that you have. That's all that anyone can do.

We need to have a healthy respect for work. Many illnesses have been cured by work. It not only builds up the body but it will make a sounder mind. The satisfaction of a job well done will do wonders for mental health.

Solomon said, "Whoever loves money never has enough. Whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. As goods increase so do those who consume them and what benefits are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them." Life is a journey toward eternity. It's better to know how to handle what you have, than to squander a fortune.

An experiment was made with a group of fleas. They were placed in acontainer with a lid on it. When they tried to jump out, they hit their heads on the lid. After a while the lid could be taken off and they couldn't jump out. They had been taught not to jump that high. When you can't seem to get to the next level, it's because you have conditioned your mind to believe that you cannot do any better.

The secret of a happy contented life is to do something that you enjoy and to live within your means. Stay out of credit problems by paying as you go. Most of us have to use credit for homes and automobiles but more debt than that results in tensions that can cause stressful living, poor health and even divorce.

Those who believe in God consider that life is more than physical things. They believe that it is a preparation for an existence that never ends in heaven.

Lynn Bradley is the author of the paperback book, Climbing the Heavenly Stairs. Learn what Jesus said about living life to the full. Discover how to accomplish seemingly impossible things. Learn that to do big things, you must not rely on what you see, but what you believe. To read excerpts from it, click on the following link. http://www.thelynnbradleybook.com