We often hear this from people who are in customer service. Everyone of us wants to love life and see good days. For many, life is bitter and every day is a dread - even many who are Christians. In 1 Peter 3: 10-12 Peter gives a formula for loving life and seeing good days. He quotes it from Psalm 34. "He who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil." He says this on the heels of reminding us to be of one mind, being compassionate for one another and not returning evil for evil.
We read over verses like this and pay little to no attention to their meaning and promises attached to them. We are slow and stubborn to see God's way for us. His word guides us in every area of our lives, yet we read it and move on. James spoke of this. Many times we are simply hearers of the word but not doers. It's like the man who observes himself in a mirror, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was (James 1:22, 23). Sometimes we pay attention to what we think the bigger issues are in our lives and others. We may think one who commits adultery is worse than one who speaks deceit. All of God's word is given to us to obey and whether we realize it or not, it is for our own peace and happiness as well as His glory. Let's not just gloss over any portion of scripture the Lord has given to us. We are instructed to bless others and therefore inherit a blessing ourselves - the blessing of loving life and seeing good days.
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