Monday, November 4, 2013

What is truly the key to Success, Happiness, and Peace?

Have you ever felt that some things that are said in the bible are crazy? Ex: "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you"(matthew 5:43), "If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also"(Luke 6:29), " Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong"(1 Thessalonians 5:15), and I am sure there are many more verses that fit this category. Despite how crazy these verses sound like, God's word is always meant to be the best for us and our lives.

People are naturally irrational, we're humans! Our emotions can sometimes delude us from what is truly right and good for us. Because of this, its important to read the bible daily and meditate on the word of God. Let God be the pilot and decision maker of our lives. We will make less silly mistakes in our lives if we just depend more on God and his word, leading us to a happy, peaceful, and successful life. 

There are many examples in the bible that we could learn from; things that sound ridiculous but are actually things that are said for our own good. I was reading 1 Thessalonians the other day and a specific verse got me thinking. The verse was 1 Thessalonians 5:15- "Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else". I had recently experienced a conflict with someone who did me wrong. I felt so angry and as I was reading this verse I was thinking to myself, why shouldn't this person deserve a punishment? I just felt like I wanted to take revenge to make me feel better. I felt like the person deserves it anyways. I've always learned from the bible that revenge is bad and we should just let God take care of it because he is a justice God. While knowing this, I still felt the urge to take revenge. However, while reading this verse I felt God starting to talk to my heart. I then realized that when we take revenge, it only makes us feel good temporarily and we end up feeling guilty at the end. Even after taking revenge you will still hate the person like you did before taking the revenge. We will also look bad to God when taking revenge or doing wrong to others. The only way to feel happy is to forgive and forget (and in some cases forget the person). At the end, this made me realize that everything that god says in the bible is truly for our own good. We may think that revenge is sweet, but God knows that at the end it will not fix anything and end up hurting us. Revenge is like sweet poisonous candy. 

An easy example that everyone could relate to is the story of Adam and Eve. God told Adam and Eve not to eat from the tree of knowledge, yet they did. At the end Adam and Eve's eyes were opened. They now have the knowledge of good and evil and no longer have the innocent mind they once had before eating the apple. God told Adam and Eve not to eat from the tree of knowledge because he knew the negative effect it would have on them. He only said it for their own good. 

So what is truly the key to a successful, peaceful, and happy life? The answer is simple, the Bible. You can be successful in life without God, look at Donald Trump or any Celebrity, but there is no guarantee that you will be happy and peaceful at the same time. The the bible is truly the key to have a SuccessfulPeaceful, and Happy Life. If we read the bible and mediate on it daily, we will hear God's voice that will help you reach where God wants you to be. Only God knows what will truly make your life happy. 

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