Piper Curda

CORE 101-5

Dr. Chase

11 December 2016

Jesus and the Good Life

During the very first Core class of the year, we were asked to write down what we

believed it meant to be living the Good Life. I wrote, ‘to be happy.’ By reading a variety of

material throughout the semester written about rhythm, the Good Life, liberal arts education,

vocation, and Christianity in general, I thought my answer might change. However, whether

surprisingly and unsurprisingly, it did not. For as long as I can remember, being happy has

always been my primary goal in life. However, I never associated it with the concept of the Good

Life until attending Wheaton. In many ways, my view of happiness did not change; but my view

of the Good Life and my definition of happiness in relation to the Good Life underwent

construction. As a follower of Christ, I believe the Good Life is remaining happy under all

circumstances as a result of knowing the capacity of love and care God has for me and for my

life. The Good Life looks a lot like 1 Timothy 6:6. This verse encapsulates everything I believe

about the Good Life in one fell swoop: “Godliness with contentment is great gain.”

Before we extensively studied the idea of the Good Life, I did not have a comprehensive

definition of happiness. Webster has two different definitions of happiness: One is ‘prosperity;

good fortune,’ and the other is ‘joy; a state of well-being and contentment’ (“Happiness”).

Before this semester, I might have defined it as the former. However, after all the discussions

and reading we have done this year, I now see it as more of the latter, especially when it comes

to the Good Life. The former definition of happiness now seems trivial and fleeting.
 The idea of happiness as prosperity is exemplified in The Death of Ivan Illych. Ivan Illych

is described as ‘happy’ twice in the entire piece and only when he experiences great success or

fortune. His life was going according to plan, “easily, pleasantly, and decorously” (Tolstoy 18).

Although when he grows ill and things seem to take a turn for the worse, all the moments he

believed were the best of his life grow to seem “worthless and doubtful” (Tolstoy 45). He begins

to wonder if maybe he did not live life as he was supposed to. He counters this thought with the

question, “But how could that be, when I did everything properly?” (Tolstoy 46). This perfectly

captures what I have now realized is the wrong way to think of happiness. If being happy meant

having all the material possessions you want and achieving all your goals, everyone in the world

would be a lot happier. It would seem to entail that there was a recipe for being happy when, in

reality, happiness is not something that can be achieved through tangible means. There is no

‘right way’ to be happy. It differs for everyone and it is not about how much money you have or

how successful you are. In fact, my definition of happiness within the Good Life is being content

in spite of differing circumstances.

Take vocation, for instance. In a Christian context, vocation is using our God-given gifts

and talents to work for the good of His Kingdom. This could mean anything from working as a

pastor within the church or singing on stage in front of people who may not know Jesus.

Vocation is anything you feel called to do in order to bring glory to God. However, with this in

mind, it is important to remember that while vocation may be important, our level of success in

these areas is not necessarily what matters. Thomas Merton writes about vocation, “We do not

know clearly beforehand what the result of this work will be” (33). Ultimately, we do not know

if our work will make much of a difference, but that is not why we do it. We do it for Jesus, not

for ourselves. Merton continues, “The secret of my full identity is hidden in Him. He alone can
make me who I am, or rather who I will be when at last I fully begin to be” (Merton 33).

Therefore, it is not up to us who we become, or what we accomplish, because it is all up to God.

In this way, there is no use in placing your happiness in your success. For me, the Good Life

means being happy in spite of failures and remaining content--even if I am not exactly where I

want to be career-wise. This is because I know that Jesus holds my future in his hands and that

he has plans to “prosper and not to harm” me (New International Version). A way in which he

does this is through a Christian liberal arts education.

A liberal arts education has broadened my knowledge of the world by helping me to

define the Good Life. Studying a variety of subjects and doing so through a Christian lens has

prepared me and helped me practice living for God in all that I do. It has helped me discover

where I need to find my happiness. Just as I have learned that you cannot place your happiness in

material things, I have learned that you must place your happiness in God. C.S. Lewis writes

that, “all our merely natural activities will be accepted, if they are offered to God” (Lewis 48). In

pursuing a Christian liberal arts education, I have discovered that even tasks as menial as

studying for a test can become meaningful once I offer it to God. In this way, my education has

helped me practice living for God and has taught me that nothing I do in this life is for me; it is

all for Him. This reinforces my definition of happiness in the Good Life in that nothing we do

can make us happy if God is not a part of it. As long as He is, nothing can take that happiness

away from us.

Resting in the fact that God has complete control over every situation makes contentment

much more achievable. Lewis touches on this when he says, “there is no question of a

compromise between the claims of God and the claims of culture, or politics, or anything else.

God’s claim is infinite and inexorable” (47). Especially in this time of political unrest and
cultural tension, it can be easy to get caught up in worldly agendas. However, we are closer to

the Good Life when these things no longer consume attention. This is not to say that I think that

one should never participate in political discussions or contribute to conversations about racial

unrest, but I do think that these things do not need to be at the forefront of our minds. These

issues should not inflict worry or stress on us because resting in the Good Life involves resting in

God and knowing that He will resolve things perfectly in the end.

Even when we rest in God and know and believe in him, we humans are still bound to

make mistakes because of our sinful nature. How, then, are we supposed to be working towards

this “Good Life” if we are always making mistakes? How are we supposed to remain content

when we continue to mess up? The answer is God’s grace. These questions are answered in

Ephesians 1:7 when Paul says, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness

of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace” (New International Version). God knows

that we mess up continually, but he is continuously providing forgiveness and showing us grace.

This is the reality of a life with Jesus. It is not going to be perfect because we are not perfect.

However, our contentment and happiness do not lie in whether or not we are perfect. If it did, we

would never be happy—which is why many people are so unhappy. When these impossible

standards of perfection are not reached, we become discouraged with ourselves and continue to

work towards something that will never be achieved. So then, why are we chasing something

unachievable if it is useless?

How is this life of happiness reached? Augustine poses the same question in Confessions

when he writes, “How, then, am I to seek a life of happiness? It is not mine until I can say, ‘This

is all I want; here is happiness’” (Augustine 216). Augustine ponders whether or not a life of

happiness is even possible or if it only exists in our memories as something that was able to be
achieved in the past but is no longer feasible with the current state of the world. He too believes

that happiness cannot be found just anywhere. He writes, “far be it from me to think that

enjoyment of any and every kind could make me happy” (Augustine 218). Augustine then

defines God as happiness when he states, “a joy there is that is not granted to the godless, but to

those only who worship you without looking for reward, because you yourself are their joy”

(Augustine 218).

God is the key to finding happiness and, subsequently, the Good Life. One does not need

happiness and God to have the Good Life. One simply needs God, because God is happiness.

Joy, peace, and contentment can all be found in God because He is those things. Augustine says

that, “even while in this miserable state” he can remain happy because he can still “rejoice in

truth [rather] than in a sham; and so it will be happy when it comes to rejoice without

interruption or hindrance in the very truth, upon which depends whatever else is true” (Augustine

220). It is possible to remain content under all circumstances, because God remains constant

under all circumstances.

The consistency of God is what makes the Good Life attainable. The Good Life cannot be

attained by human means because, as mentioned above, we are imperfect, we make mistakes,

and we are sinful beings. This is why the Good Life can only be attained through God. He

always remains the same even in a rapidly changing world. God is a rhythm. God is the rhythm

of the Good Life. His consistent forgiveness, his constant grace, and his continuous love are all

the rhythms we experience on a daily basis. His mercies are “new every morning” (New

International Version) and when we experience them, we are experiencing the Good Life.

So what exactly is the Good Life? As a follower of Christ, it is the ability to remain

happy under all circumstances. However, it is important to remember the definition of happiness.
Happiness is not success. Happiness is not material possessions. Happiness cannot be found in

one’s achievements or status. Happiness, though, is knowing that even though we mess up, we

are always forgiven. Happiness is knowing that we do not have control over our lives; God does.

Happiness is knowing that God will always work for the good in our lives. Happiness is not

found anywhere but with God. Happiness is God. With this definition of happiness in mind, one

must think about the Good Life this way: The Good Life as a follower of Christ is remaining

with God under all circumstances.

 Resources

Augustine. The Confessions. Translated by Maria Boulding, O.S.B., Vintage Spiritual Classics-

Random House, 1997.

“Happiness.” Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Retrieved from https://www.merriam-

webster.com/dictionary/happiness

Lewis, C.S. The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses. The MacMillan Company, 1949.

Merton, Thomas. New Seeds of Contemplation. New Directions Publishing, 1972.

The Bible. Ephesians 1:7. New International Version, Biblica, 1973.

The Bible. Jeremiah 29:11. New International Version, Biblica, 1973.

The Bible. Lamentations 3:23. New International Version, Biblica, 1973.

Tolstoy, Leo. The Death of Ivan Illych. Christian Classics Ethereal Library, n.d.