We are currently studying 1 Peter in our local congregation. Peter’s first letter was written to Christians in five Roman districts in Asia Minor, which today comprise much of modern Turkey. “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia” (1 Pet. 1:1, ESV). Dr. Mark Wilson has provided Bible students with a great resource in his book, Biblical Turkey.
Christians in five Roman districts are addressed in Peter’s letter. The starting point was Pontus.
Also included was Cappadocia, with its unique landscape.
In the midst of this letter which was designed to equip/strengthen Christians who were suffering fiery trials for their faith, Peter spoke to them about enjoying life and seeing good days! (1 Pet. 3:10). It would seem that “loving life and seeing good days” would be something that everyone desires. It is also apparent that this is what God wants for us! It does not follow, however, that “whatever makes you happy” is okay. For example, some have reasoned that “God wants me to be happy, but I am not happy in my present marriage, but I’ve found someone else.” Thus they contract a marriage that God’s word says is adulterous, but have convinced (deceived) themselves that it is okay because God wants them to be happy. You can be sure that God does NOT want you to be happy by doing something He has condemned in His word! First and foremost, God wants you to be holy; God wants you to be saved.
Every passage has a context. “For ‘He who would love life And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips from speaking deceit.'” The first word in our verse, “For” (Greek gar)is often “a marker of cause or reason between events.”[i] Here it links the goal of “loving life and seeing good days,” with what has just been said in the previous verses. “Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing” (3:8-9). Additionally, the greater context, which includes God’s directives to wives and husbands (3:1-7) must be considered. That is, if you want to truly love life and see good days, it flows from the behavior just described in the above verses. In this article I want to explore some important lessons.
God wants us to enjoy life and see good days. Peter has previously called this life on earth “the time of your sojourning” (1 Pet. 1:17, KJV; “your temporary residence” NET). We often sing, “This world is not my home.” Christians recognize we are “sojourners and pilgrims” (1 Pet. 2:11). We are in the world, but “not of the world” (John 15:19; 17:14-16). Yet we see that it is right to enjoy life and see good days. Our trust is not in “uncertain riches, but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy” (1 Tim. 6:17). God intends for us to enjoy the good things He gives us, as we give thanks to Him from whom all blessings flow!
God wants us to enjoy our family. “Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your fleeting life which He has given to you under the sun; for this is your reward in life and in your toil in which you have labored under the sun” (Eccl. 9:9), NASB). “. . . And rejoice with the wife of your youth . . . And always be enraptured with her love” (Prov. 5:18-19). “Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one’s youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them” (Psa. 127:3-5). “Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of children is their fathers” (Prov. 17:6, ESV). I mention the family relationship as just one example of blessings from God which He wants us to enjoy, and can contribute so much to “loving life and seeing good days.”
Hindrances to Joy. Satan has many devices (2 Cor. 2:11). He is a great “joy-stealer.” He does not want us to “rejoice in the Lord” because “the joy of the LORD is your strength” (Neh. 8:6). One hindrance can be to fail to seize the present moment; to always be thinking that once I get past this problem, or after I get this done, then I can enjoy life. That tends to always put it out of reach. God wants us right now, right here, in our present circumstances, to enjoy life and see good days, and not be waiting on something else to happen before we can do so.
Another hindrance may be what I call the “Haman complex.” Haman gathered his wife and friends. “Then Haman told them of his great riches, the multitude of his children, everything in which the king had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the officials and servants of the king. Moreover Haman said, ‘Besides, Queen Esther invited no one but me to come in with the king to the banquet that she prepared; and tomorrow I am again invited by her, along with the king. ‘Yet all this avails me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate’” (Est. 5:11-13). Here was a man who “had it all” so to speak, but he could enjoy none of it because there was ONE thing that displeased him! It’s so easy for us to do the same.
Worry can so distract us and upset us that we fail to enjoy life and see good days. See Matthew 6:25-34.
Sinful behavior. Getting back to 1 Peter 3, a failure to conduct oneself in keeping with the imperatives of the passage will only result in envy, strife, and unhappiness. We can’t be guilty of doing the things that God hates, and expect to enjoy life and see good days (see Prov. 6:16-19).
Nothing should eclipse this joy. The seventy disciples returned from the limited commission” with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name” (Lk. 10:17). Of course this was important, and showed Jesus’ coming victory over Satan, but Jesus said, “Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven” (Lk. 10:20). The primary cause for our rejoicing, that exceeds all else (even the miraculous gifts of the 1st century), is our salvation in Christ Jesus!
May God help us to enjoy life and see good days.
[i] Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). In Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., Vol. 1, p. 779). United Bible Societies.
Posted by Leon Mauldin 
leonmauldin.blog 