Some Basics of A Good Life

Mark 6:31 – Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

We all wish to live a good life. A good life is a fulfilling life. A good life is one that we look back with gratefulness. A good life is one that we enjoy each passing day. A good life is one that we look forward hopefully. A good life has less regret. A good life is when we have peace of mind.

A good life is not pegged on certain levels of education. A good life is not determined by having lots of material wealth. A good life is what the individual ultimately experiences and finds satisfaction.

The above cited Bible text tells us that Jesus and His disciples were very busy attending to people. Being busy doing something worthwhile is a basic requirement of a good life. It’s not just doing something that brings an income, no! It is doing something that solves people’s problems.

Solving problems brings satisfaction because you have contributed to life. If you solve people’s problems and you enjoy it, you’ll work without boredom or regret. Someone has correctly said that if you enjoy what you do, you’ll do it without ever working. You will wake up looking forward to do it and you will sleep looking backward and being glad that you did it.

A problem we enjoy solving is what should guide our choice of life time career or the business idea we implement. You love helping the sick, get into medical science. You find pleasure bringing goods and services close to people, have a business that does that. You enjoy helping people learn, be a teacher. Every career solves a problem. Technical problems. Transport problems. Sanitation problems. Food problems, etc.

There is fulfillment in doing something that helps people and solves their problems. The best business is a business where you are solving a problem and people gladly pay and you gladly do it. You have a shop in a village where people had no access to goods. You wake up early and sleep late to ensure they don’t lack anything because you are absent. You enjoy and they pay.

May God help us find something to do that solves people’s problems and we enjoy it and they will gladly pay for it. There is fulfillment in labor. We were created with instructions to work, Genesis 1:26-28, Genesis 2:15, without working at something we find fulfilling we will not have peace of mind.

A job that brings in a lot of money will not be rewarding and fulfilling. Every day will be a frustrating day. Find your life’s calling and get busy at it. If you can’t find the job you volunteer. Start a business that makes you fulfilled solving an obvious problem. When you like what you do, you will do it so well and the money will follow you. Excellence in employment will follow you.

Mark 6:31 – Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

Disciples and Jesus were enjoying what they were doing they didn’t even have time to eat and rest. If you enjoy what you are doing, you will not be looking at the watch for lunch time, break time, so that you get out of that place. That could be a sign that this is not your calling. If you are thinking of when you will get out of this job, you may need to examine yourself and look for your passion.

The next basic of a good life is to find time to rest. Rest is necessary for physical health. Rest is necessary for mental health. Rest is necessary for social health. Without rest we will do our best today but we will not be able to do anything else after that and the next day. Without rest today, or this week or this month or this year, or these few years will be the last day we ever work productively and enjoy.

Jesus forced His disciples to rest from what they were enjoying doing. He knew if they don’t rest, they will not enjoy this work later on. Give your workers rest. Force them to rest. After prolonged meetings and work, productivity goes down. Stop going on and on, stop and rest. If Jesus did it, you can’t be busier than Jesus.

What you do when you are totally tired and wasted yet you keep working, you may regret what you do or have to do it again. Committees that sit for too long, eventually have to discuss the same agenda again when they meet next time. What a waste! Take time and rest, after a good fulfilling job, rest. This is a basic of a good life.

Mark 6:34 – When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.

Have compassion for others, this is another basic for a good life. Jesus had compassion for the crowd. Have a compassion for people around you. Have a compassion for people you know and people you don’t know. Compassion is seeing their difficult situation and desiring to help them.

Having compassion makes you a good person and you will be proud of yourself. It gives you peace of mind to know you helped someone Ina difficult situation. Have compassion for you spouse, children and extended family. Have compassion for neighbors and church mates. Have compassion for your colleagues at work. Having compassion will cause you to do what you can to help them and that will give you a satisfaction that money can’t buy. Having compassion is a basic of a good life!

Mark 6:36 – Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”

Mark 6:37 – But he answered, “You give them something to eat.” They said to him, “That would take more than half a year’s wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”

Mark 6:38 – “How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.” When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.”

Jesus had compassion but didn’t have lots of money. He taught disciples that when you have compassion, your best is enough. Bring whatever food is there and shares Give them what is available. Share the little you have. Compassion doesn’t require huge resources, it requires a willing loving heart. The little you do within your means will bring you fulfillment.

Compassion will not send away a needy person without at least giving a listening ear. Compassion will not send away a needy person without prayer and word of encouragement. Compassion will not send away a person without some help albeit small.

Having compassion is a basic of a good life. If everyone had compassion, what a wonderful world it would be. What a wonderful marriage and family life it would be. What a wonderful workplace it would be. What a wonderful church it would be.

Mark 6:39 – Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass.

Mark 6:40 – So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties.

Another basic for a good life is order. Life can be chaotic, and confusing, find some order. Thousands of people were present standing and moving around. Jesus directed them to sit down in an orderly manner. They were made to sit in groups. It is easy to manage people who are seated. It is easy to manage people who are in groups. Order is a basic of a good life.

We get stressed and frustrated many times because we get overwhelmed. The solution is to get some order into our life. Have a list of things to do. A short realistic list. Rearrange the house. Reorganize your work place. Select clothes to wear each day in advance. Have a menu. Have a reading timetable that covers all subjects. Have a budget that brings order to you finances. Have an exercise regime. Order is a basic of a good life.

Put your life in order and see the magic it does. Order makes you feel in control and that is satisfying. Order helps you focus on one thing at a time and that is productive. If only we were orderly, we would be happy. Order is another basic of a good life.

Dear God, I need these basics of a good life in my life. Grant it God. In Jesus’s name, Amen!

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