Living the Good Life
“Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord; that walketh in his ways. For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee. Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table. Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord” (Psalm 128:1-4).
This is the good life since God’s ways are good. Fearing God. Walking in His ways (obeying Him). Working hard. Being married with children around a table eating together. Blessings abound.
We are blessed when we obey God. This is a theme throughout the entire Bible. In the Old Testament, those who lived in obedience to God were blessed and those who lived in rebellion to Him were cursed. Nothing has changed. God’s ways are perfect. We are commanded to fear God and obey Him, walk in His ways. All of His commands to us are for our good.
We are commanded to work hard. Women are commanded to work hard in their homes and men are commanded to work hard to provide for their families. This is the way it has been from the beginning. Are you busy in your homes, women? Are you careful to teach, train, and discipline your children? Are you a help meet to your husband as the Lord has created you to be?
In these verses, we are told of the value of children; the value of women bearing and raising children. This is not popular in this day where overpopulation is taught in the public schools. Everything the radical environmentalists fight for harms people, but mostly the unborn children suffer the most since in their minds, they are the problem. Murdering unborn babies is their solution. They worship the creation rather than the Creator.
Bearing and raising children is a good thing! God created our bodies to do this. God calls women who open their wombs to children a “fruitful vine by the sides of thine house.” He calls children a blessing from Him. “Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house – It is not uncommon in the East, as elsewhere, to train a vine along the sides of a house – partly to save ground; partly because it is a good exposure for fruit; partly as an ornament; and partly to protect it from thieves. Such a vine, in its beauty, and in the abundant clusters upon it, becomes a beautiful emblem of the mother of a numerous household.” (Barnes’ Notes on the Bible)
“Thy children like olive plants round about thy table; a numerous offspring was always accounted a very great blessing; and it must be very pleasant to a parent to see his children round about his table.” (Gill’s Exposition) There is no greater blessing to me than to sit around a table with my husband of almost 40 years and sharing food with my children, their spouses, and my grandchildren. This is living the good life. I love God’s ways!
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. James 1:17
5 thoughts on “Living the Good Life”
I almost feel ashamed in today’s society to want to bear children in my own womb with my own egg and my husband’s seed. It is quite popular to tell childless couples to NOT have their own children and adopt instead since there are so many orphans and abused children that need a home, and while I will adopt if God calls me, is it wrong to want children of my and my husband’s own begetting? I so look forward to being pregnant and giving birth, and I want to have several children thusly. Is that selfish given there are already so many unloved children in the world? I often wonder if God’s plan is for the infertile to adopt the unloved, since He is the one who allows conception. I know what God’s will is for women, I’m just musing and trying to untangle my messy mind.
Yes, our culture wants to guilt women into not bearing children of their own by using the argument of unloved children. God’s command to be fruitful and multiply has never gone away. He designed sex for marriage and to produce children. If it wasn’t for birth control, which was an evil invention brought to America by radical feminists, this conversation would not even be taking place. Just remember this.
1 Timothy 5:14.
It may at times be hard – but yes it’s the good life. We are called to endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ and sometimes being a wife and Mom requires that. It’s hard work bearing children, caring for them, and teaching them well -but the joy and delight it brings makes it so worth it! It’s hard work to prepare meals, clean the bathrooms, and keep the crew in clean clothes-but the satisfaction and rewards it brings is so worth it! It can be hard to always be there for our husbands when they need/want us, to support them, and to submit to them even when it’s hard -but the peace and security it brings is so worth it!
As long as we do our best, the best we know how, that’s all God requires of us. Ask Him for grace, strength,and wisdom. He will help us to joyfully, willingly, obediently endure-to the end!
When I was pregnant with our 4th baby, 5 years after our 3rd child was born, people said similar things to me: that we were irresponsible and the world has enough people in it already.
My reply was if God thought that, He wouldn’t have blessed us with another baby, as He is in control.
I do understand the struggle, though. I’ve experienced it myself.
I was barely 19 years old and my husband brought me home pregnant from our honeymoon and decided to keep me pregnant and grow our family as quickly as possible. Me (and my parents) were overjoyed and we had 3 boys age 3 and under by the time I was 23. I had people come up to me – and my mom – asking “don’t you know what causes that” and “I’ve never seen you when you weren’t pregnant, are you just gonna stay that way?” I always tried to look on the lighter side of things and assumed most folks joking, even though they were probably criticizing me for being so young, never worked, and having one baby right after another. But we always had faith that the Lord knew exactly what he was doing!