As I wrap up this series on Life Design, I thought I would write one final post that fleshes out a theological perspective for all of this. I get that some might want to push the pause button now, thinking I’m about to get religious on you. I do hope you’ll indulge me for a few minutes to read this entire post. It might surprise you.
One of my favorite verses in Scripture is John 10:10. In that verse Jesus says, “The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
In the English language we have one word for Life. However, in the Greek language there are three. There’s the word Bios, which is physical life. If you’re breathing you have Bios. There’s also the word Psyche, which says that we’re more than bodies – we also have emotions. We have a soul. And then there is the word Zoe. It’s my favorite Greek word. It’s more than simply being physically alive. Have you ever heard the phrase, “breathing but dead inside”? Now we’re getting to Zoe. It’s the word that Jesus uses in this verse.
When I think about Zoe I think about words such as abundance, fullness, freedom, fulfillment, meaning, purpose, satisfaction & wholeness. In this verse Jesus says that he came to bring this kind of life – not simply going through the motions but being fully alive!
Here’s the tricky part with this. Jesus’ vision of life is often counter to what our culture offers up as the path to good living, and one must take a careful look at exactly what he or she is pursuing.
Jesus gives some insight on this in Matthew 7:13-14, when he says, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
These words from Jesus tell us a few things. First, there are two paths that people take, then and today. One leads to life and one to destruction. When you hear this word destruction, think of it in terms of waste and regret. We all know those feelings. Second, most people take one path over the other. Third, and this is the concerning one, the one that most people take isn’t the one that leads to life. It’s the one that leads to waste and regret. The final takeaway is that since most people aren’t dumb, there must be something deceptive going on here!
Do you remember the premise behind The Matrix? Neo has sensed for awhile that things are not as they seem in the real world, but the revelation comes once he meets Morpheus, who sheds light on the reality of the Matrix. Those in the Matrix look normal, but in reality they are slaves. That’s obviously concerning, but the even bigger concern is that they have no idea that they are slaves! They think they’re free, but they’re not.
The world that we live in today is a system. Maybe not like the Matrix, but it’s a system nonetheless. And we can be slaves to this system if we’re not careful. Our system is rooted in power, greed and lust. It’s all about more, more, more. The good life comes when we have more – consume more and experience more, and then you will be happy. So that’s what we do. Our economy operates on this, and it’s doing quite well!
But are we doing quite well? Is it working for us? Is it leading to Life?
A few years ago I read a book called For the Love of Money: A Memoir, by Sam Polk. It’s the story of a guy who is pursuing the good life. If the world said it would make him happy, he went after it. And he got it: money, power, prestige, women. He thought these things would make him happy, safe and important. But at the end of the day, it left him empty. It crushed him. He knew that there had to be something more. So he began seeking. Here’s what he said:
I was twenty-seven years old, on the verge of becoming a multimillionaire. It’d made it. I’d achieved. My life looked exactly like I’d wanted it to look. And with a sinking feeling of horror, a question that had been sitting on the periphery of my consciousness stepped forward into the light. So why am I so miserable?
Reading this, I’m reminded of another instance where Jesus talks about the one who gains the whole world but forfeits his soul. Maybe that sounds extreme to you. But think about what Bilbo Baggins once said: “I feel thin, sort of stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread.” That’s not as extreme is it? I know I’ve felt that way before. Forfeiting your soul isn’t a one time thing that sends you to hell.
I think that’s one of the places where Jesus is misunderstood. If you’ve spent any time in church it is easy to come away with the idea that all he cares about is getting you to heaven when you die. When I read Jesus I don’t come away with that. I do think our eternity is important, but I see Jesus very much caring about our lives today. And I believe that he wants to teach us how to live our lives in a way that is counter to what the world says is the good life. And it’s not because he wants to deprive us from our fun. It’s because he wants us to experience true Life.
I realize that throwing the Bible into this conversation might cause some to dismiss these thoughts on life design. I admit that there have been times where I wanted to distance myself as well. But I continue to come back to Jesus as the one who modeled Life better than anyone else before or since. His life and teaching is the foundation for how I seek to live my life.
Pt. 1: Life Design 101
Pt. 2: Rest and Responsibility
Pt. 3: Scaling vs. Simplicity