The Truth About Right Living - A Personal Observation

As a young person, my life was messed up by the basic pressure to be successful. Because of a single, untimely aptitude test, I had for years felt pushed to perform well academically, and that pressure lasted all through junior high and high school. At the same time, I had also felt other forces trying to move me in different directions. For instance, I had felt a certain amount of pressure just to be a good person and to do the right thing, plus I had felt pressure to be popular and to try to fit in with my peers. Under the weight of all of those conflicting forces, I eventually snapped and said to myself, "Enough is enough"! I simply could not take all the pressure any longer, so I withdrew, rebelled, or did whatever one wants to call it!

In Chapter Two, the discussion dealt with what I have seen as a widespread dilemma for all, irrespective of age. As a young person, I may have thought that I was the only one feeling all of those different, success-oriented anxieties. But now, over thirty years later, I realize that that initial impression had been wrong because I see the same types of stress on faces of people everywhere. Today, most young people face an extraordinary challenge as they prepare for their futures. With them now, as was with me then, they almost have to feel the many forces of this life pulling and jerking on them, driving them in ways which they do not want to go and often in ways which they cannot always fully understand. Yet, this battle is not just with the young. It actually hits all ages!

Once a young person has received that coveted college degree, which of course is nearly a requirement in this system around us, the pressures of this life not only continue but in many cases even intensify. With maturity, one quickly learns that this life can be both hard and brutal, and most everyone eventually becomes a victim in one form or another to the simple treacheries of just living. At early and middle age, the pressure is to excel at one's profession and to acquire the appropriate worldly possessions, such as a nice home, suitable automobile, and so forth. As one moves into older age, the pressure is to become or to remain financially affluent so that that person can continue to project that same aura of success.

Unfortunately, after a lifetime of chasing these types of worldly pursuits, many of us often hide a heart which has been hurt, made bitter and hard, or sometimes even one which has just become plan discouraged with living.

In my opinion, much of the problem originates from within the system around us, and much of that problem occurs because too much emphasis is placed on worldly success! Young people are subjected to too many negative pressures too soon in life, and in many cases, those pressures begin even before the young person has had the chance to really live and enjoy their youth.

Some parents push their children to be computer-literate. Others want their children to be reading before they start school. Some push their youngsters towards academic excellence because they think or hope that life will somehow be better if their child can be smarter, while others push their kids towards high achievement in athletics because they want them to develop a competitive, winner's attitude.

My feeling is that none of these approaches to life is worthy of absolute or total acceptance! All are unspiritual, all are superficial, and all should be rejected as the best or even as really good approaches to this life because there is a much better way, a way which is neither hard nor overly complicated.

In very simple fashion, one can use basic logic and arrive at the proper conclusion for how to live this life. That conclusion, which is also the main theme for this part of the discussion, can be expressed by the following statement. One should strive to live equally well on both sides of the grave! While those words do not exclude or look down on being successful or even well off, they also do not endorse that lifestyle, either.

This idea about right living or about living equally well on both sides of the grave addresses how one should treat various events in life. It also deals with the level of effort with which one should approach those events. The main thinking is that an individual should strive to pay the right amount of attention to each of life's predicaments. Paying too much attention, on the one hand, can cause undue stress and anxiety, while paying too little can cause one to fall short of his or her hopes, dreams, and expectations. In all instances, one would be more prudent to consider life from both sides of the grave.

How can a person know exactly how much effort to use in any of life's given circumstances? How should a person who desires to please the Lord approach this life? In my mind, the single answer to both questions is mathematical. It is also logical! Applying the right effort to any problem first involves understanding the importance of the problem. Second, it involves putting that problem into its proper context.

Consider the importance of a child learning about computers and also beginning to read before grade school! Many could correctly argue that such a young person might have a head start or distinct advantage over other kids. That child would most likely do much better in school than if he or she had not learned so much while still young. That child would perhaps be more motivated towards a higher education and then, as a result of all of these things, might someday snag that perfect job!

In many households, this picture of the young person starting at youth and ending up with a great job characterizes their ideal of the American Dream. The child grows up and does exceptionally well all through life, and the whole family is highly pleased!

On the surface, this scenario does not sound too bad, but let us complicate the picture just a bit and put this whole matter into its more appropriate context. Let us assume that everything in the above scenario actually does come to pass exactly as scripted. The child does do well in school. He or she does go to a top university, on a fully paid scholarship no less. This individual then rises to be CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of a major Corporation. Over the course of a lifetime, he or she amasses a large fortune, lives in the finest homes in the best neighborhoods, drives the most luxurious vehicles, and literally does have it all.

But then one day, the hearse pulls up to the door, and they carry this individual away. A life has ended, and the person inside that life is gone! This individual, who at one time had started out as a young kid with such great potential, actually rose to that level and achieved everyone's expectations. In the eyes of many, he or she would be viewed as having been a great success. But in the real end, the hearse has carried away a dead body, and that person is no more on this earth! Then what?