The Secret of Good Living
By G. C. Tenney
The secret of long life and of freedom from the ills of life is not hidden away in the recesses of some occult science. Our wise and beneficent Creator would not hide from the eyes and understanding of his children a subject of such vital importance, nor limit the knowledge of its principles to a few learned men. God has written the so-called secrets of health and happiness upon tablets so plainly that the wayfaring man may not err, though he be not a physician. Here are some prescriptions given by the heavenly wisdom: “What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good? Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.” Another is: “Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily.” Breaking off evil habits, ceasing to do evil and learning to do well, are the greatest “regulators” on earth. Getting one’s mind off his own troubles, and caring for others who need our help is a mighty tonic. Here is another recipe for prostration: “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” This is a wonderful sedative. Another, a stimulant: “Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.” Here is a general prescription: “If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee.” In olden time the presence of Jesus was a boon to sufferers. The unnumbered multitudes who received healing from his hand were but the vanguard of a countless host who have, or might have, since then received strength and comfort from the same pitying Saviour. The conditions upon which he effected his cures were few and simple—a clean, pure life, and faith in God. No better code of healing was ever invented. A life that is right, and a calm, peaceful trust in God as the author and restorer of life and health are still and forever the fundamental conditions of happiness.13 Curative agencies do not lie outside of these conditions. The work of curing the sick is but a work of restoring that which was lost. This is what Jesus came to do. Restoration means a retracing of our wanderings; it may include a re-climbing of our down-hill digressions; it certainly starts where all the rest of the gospel begins, at repentance and reformation.