Living the Good Life

By Eulie R Brannan

The question, “What is the good life? has been the subject of many philosophical discussions and writings over the centuries. Millions of ordinary people have considered it as they started out on the road of life. The author reviews some of the thoughts by Greek philosophers, but concentrates on the Apostle Peter’s statement in I Peter 3:10-12. The tongue is a powerful instrument for good or evil. God gave us the power to make choices about the decisions life calls on us to make, but these choices have consequences. Many evil roads open up for us, and we must choose to turn away from them, and choose to do good.

Our happiness in life largely depends on our being at peace with God, ourselves and others. This requires real commitment on our part. Christ promised to give his disciples a special kind of peace, not as the world gives. Paul spoke of it as “the peace of God which surpasses all understanding” Philippians 4:7. This peace comes from such things as: remembering God loves us; keeping our conscience clear; learning the secret of contentment; being satisfied with who we are; keeping contact with the Heavenly Father in prayer.

God promises, “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry.” Psalm 34:15

The author concludes with some things his ninety three years have taught him. Life will sometimes be hard. God’s law of sewing and reaping is unalterable. Need for people in his life. All need meaningful work. Our self-respect affects how others regard us. We all have a need for something to look forward to. God can be trusted. We don’t know what tomorrow may bring.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Oct 13, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664245686

Eulie R Brannan

The writer has lived for 94 years and experienced many heartaches. He has had his father, mother two brothers and a sister precede him in death. He has had to bury three wives- one of whom he lived with for thirty four years, a second for thirty one years and the last for eight years. Yet he has weathered these storms and can still see the sublight of life. His faith has sustained him, and he believes the Lord has spared him to do his work that he plans to do until the lord calls him home. The author exposes himself and his inner feelings in such a way that a fellow struggler can relate to them and hopefully gain courage to struggle on, wounded but not defeated. He with Paul affirms, “I know whom I have believed” 2 Timothy 1:12.

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Copyright © 2021 Eulie R Brannan.

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ISBN: 978-1-6642-4567-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-4569-3 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-4568-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021919659

WestBow Press rev. date: 10/12/2021

CONTENTS

Preface

Chapter 1 What is the Good Life?

Chapter 2 He that would Love Life

Chapter 3 The Power of the Tongue for Good

Chapter 4 The Power of the Tongue to Do Harm

Chapter 5 The Responsibility of Choice

Chapter 6 Turn Away from Evil

Chapter 7 Choosing to do Good

Chapter 8 The Blessing of Peace

Chapter 9 Seek Peace and Pursue It

Chapter 10 Our Rewards and Reflections on Life

Bibliography

To my children-Steve Brannan, Debbie Watkins, Becky Hagen, Julie Brannan-who have helped me live the good life.

My gratitude to John Walton for his help in formatting and proofing the manuscript.

PREFACE

Many times over the past seventy-five years I have thought about an event that occurred when I was an undergraduate student at Auburn University. One quarter I commuted from Montgomery to Auburn with a student who spent each day in the Auburn Student Center playing cards rather than attending class. He asked me one day, Brannan, do you gamble? No. Smoke or drink? No. Chase women? No, I am married. He was silent for a minute and then said, Man, you’re not living! His grades did not permit him to enroll the next semester. Was he living the good life? I think most would say, No. After exploring what I believe is the good life, I will examine in some detail Peter’s definition.

For 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. (1 Peter 3:10-12).

When my son had read the first chapter, he asked if I remembered the topic I had given him for the oratorical contest he won in his senior year of high school. I did not, and he said, It was ‘He who would love life and see good days.’ He is seventy-four now, so you can see I have thought about Peter’s statement for a long time.

1

WHAT IS THE GOOD LIFE?

This is a question that has been pondered and debated for centuries. Emrys Westacott posted on the internet an excellent discussion about the different views of some of the major Greek philosophers. Both Socrates and Plato believed the good life is lived by one who has basic virtues such as honesty, kindness, unselfishness, loyalty and looks to the welfare of others and not exclusively their own. Epicurus declared that what makes life worth living is that we can experience pleasure. This is what is known as hedonism. Aristotle believed the good life is a happy life. The happy life includes virtue, good health and reasonably long life, affluent enough so that they don’t need to work for a living, good friends, the respect of others, and exercise their uniquely human abilities and capacities. (Westacott, Emrys. What Does It Mean to Live the Good Life? ThoughtCo, Aug. 25, 2020, thoughtco.com/what-is-the-good-life-4038226.)

Others did not believe any life could be properly judged until it was over. The Greek philosopher Solon visited Croesus, the fabulously rich king of Lydia, who showed him all his wealth. Solon was not impressed, and the annoyed Croesus said, You are a world traveler; whom have you encountered happier than I? Solon named three ordinary men who died honorable deaths. He said, No man can be called happy until he is dead (Herodotus, The Histories, p. 40). Shortly after this a son of Croesus fatally injured himself, and on the same day he died. Cyrus the Great of Persia captured Sardis and condemned Croesus to be burned at the stake. When the fire was lit, Croesus remembered Solon’s wise saying and began to cry out, Oh, Solon. Cyrus was told about the cry and had the fire put out to ask Croesus why he was calling Solon. He related the visit of Solon and his saying. Cyrus thought about his mortality and pardoned Croesus.

All of these philosophers had many good ideas, but they were incomplete. There is no reference to God and the afterlife or to the place of suffering in the good life. Few, if any, of my readers would agree with my fellow student, referred to in the preface that thought I was not living because I did not smoke, drink, or chase women. As Jim McGuiggan said, A few beers, a couple weeks in Spain each year, hours of television each day, and a lie in on Sunday morning is hardly living. (Jim McGuiggan, Jesus Hero of Thy Soul, p 247).

Jesus said, For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:26-27).

THE GOOD LIFE IS MORE THAN PHYSICAL EASE WITH FEW PROBLEMS

If you say that someone is living the good life, you mean that they are living in comfort and luxury with few problems or worries. (COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers). Is this really the good life?

The wise Solomon tested this view and searched to see what was good for the sons of men to do under heaven all the days of their lives (Ecclesiastes 2:3). He had the means to try everything. In his search he left no stone unturned. Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure (Ecclesiastes 2:10).

He Searched For Happiness In Wisdom

I set my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly (Ecclesiastes 1:17). He was highly successful in his search. Look, I have attained greatness, and have gained more wisdom than all who were before me in Jerusalem (Ecclesiastes 1:16). What was his conclusion? And I perceived that this also is grasping for the wind. For in much wisdom is much grief, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow (Ecclesiastes 1:17,18).

He Searched In Laughter And Fleshly Pleasure

I said in my heart, ‘Come now, I will test you with mirth; therefore, enjoy pleasure….’ I searched in my heart how to gratify my flesh with wine, while guiding my heart with wisdom, and how to lay hold on folly…. I acquired male and female singers, the delights of the sons of men, and musical instruments of all kinds (Ecclesiastes 2:1-8).

He Tried To Find Happiness In Building

I made my works great, I built myself houses, and planted myself vineyards. I made myself gardens and orchards, and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. I made myself water pools from which to water the growing trees of the grove (Ecclesiastes 2:4-6). His conclusion? This also is folly.

Wealth Could Not Satisfy

I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the special treasures of kings and of the provinces (Ecclesiastes 2:8).

Solomon summarized his search and his findings.

"Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them.

I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure,

For my heart rejoiced in all my labor;

And this was my reward from all my labor.

Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done

and on the labor in which I had toiled;

and indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind.

There was no profit under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 2:10-11).

His final conclusion was "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all.

For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing whether good or evil" (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).

Anyone reading this book who does not believe in a life after death will hardly agree with my writings. I firmly believe Paul’s statement that godliness has the promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come (1 Timothy 4:8-9).

THE GOOD LIFE INCLUDES SUFFERING

Any writing about the good life that does not come to grips with the universal phenomena of suffering is not complete. A wealthy patron of the opera had discovered a young operatic singer with a beautiful soprano voice. He wanted his opera critic friend to hear her sing. They attended an opera in which the young woman was the lead singer. After the performance he asked the critic for his evaluation. The critic said, She has perfect pitch, sings with ease the highest note and flows smoothly into the lower ones. She just has not lived long enough for her suffering to give it the richness the great ones have.

Many have regarded suffering as a privilege, especially when suffering for a noble cause. Christian martyrs joyfully met their death fortified with this belief. Ignatius, the bishop of the Church at Philippi, was arrested about AD 110 and sent to Rome to be fed to the lions in the arena. On his way he wrote six letters to churches and one to his friend Polycarp. In his letter to the church at Rome he wrote, Let me be food for the wild beasts through whom I can reach God. I am God’s wheat, and I am being ground by the teeth of the wild beasts, that I might be proved to be pure bread (Lightfoot, J.B. and Harmon, J.R., The Apostolic Fathers, p.103).

Many could summarize their lives as Jacob answered pharaoh when he asked him his age: Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life (Genesis 47:9). Job said, Yet man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward (Job 5:7). And, Man who is born of woman is of few days and full of trouble (Job 14:1). Jesus said, In the world you will have tribulation (John 16:33). Christians are not exempted. The good as well as the bad are called upon to suffer.

Suffering Opens Our Hearts To God’s Word

David said, It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes (Psalms119:71). Sometimes the word of God falls on hard hearts. It may lie there for a long time until suffering enters the hearer’s heart- sickness, grief, troubles. Then the heart breaks and the word falls in and bears fruit.

Many years ago, a friend of mine asked me to go to Kilby Prison in Montgomery to see a young eighteen-year-old man who was on death row. He had killed a man in Mobile and was sentenced to die in the electric chair. My friend had made arrangements with the warden for me to be taken into this highly restricted area to talk with the young man. He came to the cell bars, and I have never talked to anyone who was so eager to hear how he could obtain eternal life. When I explained God’s plan for the believer to repent of his sins and be baptized to have his sins washed away, he immediately requested baptism.

There was a big problem; no prisoner could be moved from death row for any purpose except by written permission from the judge who sentenced him. Permission, if possible, would take days to obtain, and this young man’s days were limited. A solution was suggested by someone. Take a tarpaulin into the shower room and let eight prisoners hold up the sides with showers turned on until the water depth would allow him to be immersed, which we did. The young man was electrocuted a few days later.

Suffering Causes Us To Reflect On Our Lives

As we lie awake unable to sleep because of pain or concern about a troubling diagnosis, we may ask, What is life all about? Am I really focused on things that are most important? What changes do I need to make? I know many sufferers have made promises to God while suffering. Please just let me get well and I will…. With the pain gone, the promises may be forgotten. There are also many others that changed the course of their lives because of suffering.

King Manasseh was the son of good king Hezekiah. Unfortunately, he was not like his father. The sacred chronicler wrote of him, So Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed before the children of Israel (2 Chronicles 33:9). Tradition holds that he killed Isaiah who was the trusted advisor to his father. Later in life he changed.

"And the Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they would not listen. Therefore the Lord brought upon them the captains of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze fetters, and carried him off to Babylon. Now when he was in affliction, he implored the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, and prayed to Him; and He received his entreaty, heard his supplication, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God" (Italics mine) (2 Chronicles 33:10-13).

Sorrows Bring Us Closer To Jesus

The shortest verse of the Bible tells us so much about Jesus. Jesus wept (John 11:35). Jesus knew he would soon raise Lazarus from the grave, but seeing the sorrow of his dear friends he could not restrain his emotions. This helps up realize, Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same (Hebrews 2:14). On another occasion he cried, Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes" (Luke 19:41-42).

Frank Ellsworth Graeff was a nineteenth century minister in the Philadelphia Conference of the Methodist Church. Throughout the district, he was known as the sunshine minister. In spite of his outwardly-cheery disposition, Graeff was often called upon to go through severe testing experiences in his life. It was while passing through such a test and experiencing severe despondency, doubt and physical agony, that he turned to the Scriptures for solace and strength. 1 Peter 5:7 became especially meaningful to him during this particular struggle: Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you. The phrase, He careth for you, spoke deeply to his need and caused him to write the beautiful song, Does Jesus Care?

Does Jesus care when my heart is pained

Too deeply for mirth and song-

As the burdens press, and the cares distress,

And the way grows weary and long?

Does Jesus care when I’ve said good-bye

To the dearest on earth to me,

And my sad heart aches till it nearly breaks-

Is it aught to Him? does He see?

I know my Savior cares.

Suffering Developes Empathy As Nothing Else Can

I had a weekly TV program for five years. One viewer wrote in asking me to recommend a short book that would enable him to learn all about the Bible. There is no short cut. A man said to Gus Nichols, I would give half my life to know what you know about the Bible. He answered, That’s about what it cost me. Neither is there an easy shortcut to developing deep empathy.

My dear friend John Walton had a heart attack when he was in his mid-thirties. Over the next thirty-five years he has been challenged with many life-threatening situations. Out of his suffering he has developed empathy like few others have. Those who have been through the valley and shadow of death know how others feel as they walk the same road. Those who are in the Valley distinctly know others who have passed through it. They flock to them for help. John is constantly called upon for help by those facing challenges, such as he has experienced. The writer of Hebrews said about Jesus, "For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are