Does It Pay To Live God's Way?

In 1939 baseball manager Leo Durocher looked over at an opposing ball team and said, "Take a look at them. They're all nice guys, but they'll finish last. Nice guys finish last." Was he right? In a recent article, The Week magazine reports that "Men who were below average in terms of agreeableness and cooperativeness make 18 percent more--almost $10,000 more per year--than their kinder, gentler office mates."

For the last several weeks we have been studying different aspects of the Christian life as described in the book of Proverbs. Much of what we've learned about being a "nice guy" requires a lot of hard work and sacrifice knowing that in some cases our efforts will not be recognized. So the question a lot of Christians have is, "Does living the Christian life actually pay off in the real world?"

If a person looks at life superficially, from a cynical, self-centered point of view, the honest answer is "no". But there are all sorts of consequences to such a view (which we are going to talk about Sunday) that would make anyone think twice about such a short-sighted way to live. Certainly there are exceptions, but what we see in the history of mankind is God's moral law engraved, to a greater or lesser extent, on the hearts of all people. When those laws are followed, even without a knowledge of the true God, the results are remarkably better than when those same laws are casually tossed aside. The true value of the Christian life is found, however, when it is placed in the light of the cross of Jesus Christ. The moment we receive what Christ has done for us and how that changes all of eternity, the Christian life here takes on a "forever" importance. Join us this Sunday (August 21 at 10:00 am) as we explore the blessings of living God's way.