Life is NOT good.

Ever seen this logo before? Its a clothing brand. Ever worn it before? Ever thought this before?

I used to think that life was good. For the most part my life has been pretty good. But as I keep growing up and experiencing more and more of life, I am more and more aware that life is not good. I am serious, and I mean that.

Here is what I think: Life is not good. Life can sometimes be good and sometimes be really really not good. God is good.

Many times people love to say, or wear, or post a status that says ‘life is good.’ But often times that very same person on another day, or even hour, will be quick to say how awful life is at the moment. So what they really meant is not that “life is good” but more like “life is good sometimes.” Well if you begin to measure whether it is good or bad more often, which would it be?

God is good and He brings good things into our lives on a regular basis.

“every good and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” -James 1:16

What are people meaning when they say that life is good?

Whats our comfort

Lets think about the 28 year old who gets a phone call saying that his 55 year old father just fell over dead due to a massive heart attack.
Or what about the 22 year old lady working long hours yet still sturggling to make ends meet who has three young children at home and a man who has completely abandoned them.
Or what about the 48 year old man who in all his misery is so addicted to alcohol that he sleeps on park benches and spends every penny he can find on more alcohol.
Or what about the Father and Mother who have a son who is addicted to drugs, already messed up his entire life and is on the verge of overdose and suicide.
Or what about the young babies and kids who have been left out on the streets because their families cannot take care of them and they nothing else to do with them.
Or what about the millions of young girls around the world who are being forced into sex-trafficking.

The list goes on and on of examples. Real life examples. I didnt have to make those up because as a community guy I know people who are right now in situations just like those. Would we even begin to try and speak the word “Life is good” in their presence? Would you want to be wearing that t-shirt if you were helping them? Oh the arrogance!

I think folks, and especially Christians and churches, need to think through this. We are wrong when we declare that life is good. When we say this, we lose focus and misplace the “good”. Life is not good. God is good. When life is bad, we should turn to God and trust Him that He is good and He can carry us through it. When life seems good, we should turn to God and be humbled, undeserving, and thank Him for the blessing. We never stop at saying Life is Good. If it seems good to you, then that is wonderful and God has been good to you. Don’t take it for granted.

Their is such a display of misunderstanding life and gifts when we take things for granted. All things are gifts. Nothing is a given. Don’t take it for granted.

(Don’t get me wrong. I am not a pessimist. I am very high on life. I love to live life. I am excited to live. I am big into positive thinking and the glass is most often half-full to me, but all because of God. I see it through God. Everything good is good because of Him. Everything bad has the hope that God can change things.)

“Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you” -Psalm 63:3

It is not the goodness of life that should be causing us to smile and make t-shirts. It is the goodness of the God who gives life. Let us praise him because His love for us in Christ is better than life.