A Life of Ease
May 21, 2025
Then I will say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry!”’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated? — Luke 12:19, Berean Standard Bible (BSB).
Ooh, that’s a tough one for us Americans! Isn’t it?
As for my wife and I, we have accumulated an overabundance of stuff. Stuff overflowing to fill all our attic spaces and crowding out most of the useful space in our basement! Our children are all grown and have their own sufficient accommodations and provisions.
We haven’t got to the point of renting outside storage facilities, yet, but we seem to be a repository for more and more coffee mugs, plastic drinking cups, and so on.
Yesterday, our good neighbors were Spring cleaning and shared their frustration of having so much stuff to move around, rearrange, and try to part with (to the landfill).
This seems to be the story of America.
We fill our houses with material wealth.
We expand our garages.
We rent outdoor Storage lockers.
We get rid of one thing and two things replace it.
We set aside more and more land space for landfills.
We ship our plastic junk to small villages by the Oceans — places who seemingly cannot refuse our mountains of trash.
We have attained the “Easy Life”- the life of ease, sitting in the lap of luxury, hog heaven — whatever descriptive phrase you can come up with.
Unfortunately, at least for this old man, I have no idea how to escape from it and into a righteous lifestyle. It’s like trying to get out of the way of an avalanche!
The Amish are the only community that I have heard of which has developed an efficient lifestyle — a practical lifestyle which has incorporated the precepts of God, Jesus, and the Bible into their pragmatic and realistic way of living each and every day…
In stark contrast to my Life of Ease are all the peoples around the world who are starving to death, dying from very curable diseases, while most of us are deciding whether to barbecue steaks or just have hotdogs with our beer and potato salad.
We act as if it was our God-given right to live “fat.”
No, the LORD has told us what is good. What he requires of us is this: to do what is just, to show constant love, and to live in humble fellowship with our God. — Micah 6:8, Good News Translation (GNT).
OR, as the Amplified Translation expands on the same verse:
He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you Except to be just, and to love [and to diligently practice] kindness (compassion), And to walk humbly with your God [setting aside any overblown sense of importance or self-righteousness]? (AMP)
OR, you could look up this verse in your own Bible or the translation of your choosing. (see https://biblehub.com/micah/6.htm)
No matter. It seems to be very clear to me…
Everything is way out of balance…
However, don’t get me wrong. The following, too, is extremely important so we can gain that correct balance and develop the proper perspective:
For what does a man get for all the toil and striving with which he labors under the sun?…Indeed, all his days are filled with grief, and his task is sorrowful; even at night, his mind does not rest. This too is futile. Nothing is better for a man than to eat and drink and enjoy his work. I have also seen that this is from the hand of God. For apart from Him, who can eat and who can find enjoyment?… — Ecclesiastes 2:22–25, BSB.
My station in life has always been Working Class — never got to the Middle one. Often, I would work 60–80 hours in a week, and afterwards,in my leisure time, there was nothing more enjoyable for me than spending time playing with my five children, barbecuing and having a few beers.
My concluding thoughts: We can find balance and perspective in participating with the many charitable organizations which we can choose from… participating with time or funds.
To name a few: the Salvation Army, Catholic Charities, Save the Children, Feed More (local), Covenant House, and many more…
It’s too bad this country has chosen the path of “us only,” that is, “U.S. only,” cutting out all foreign aid… persecuting foreigners…
Well, so much for America being a “Christian Nation.”
But some might believe that there is no God we have to answer to…
Okay.
How about this: Does any remnant of Humanity remain in the world today?
Some may think we have no responsibility toward our fellow Human Beings.. that we are not our brother’s keeper.
How about this: Does anyone have a Conscience anymore?
I’m left with this one and only question: Have you ever considered the Biblical perspective?
Selah — “Jesus Will Still Be There” — Live From Blackbird Studio
OR, Way Maker | Jesus Image | Steffany Gretzinger | John Wilds
“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” — John 16:33, New Living Translation,(NLT).
