An old truism states, “the good things in life are free.” Of course that flies in the face of people who were taught, “you get what you pay for,” only to find in today’s world, you can pay for it and still not get it! This leads us to the exercise of defining what we mean by “good things” or, that which makes life fulfilling. The world has many glittering trophies to capture. Each one promises satisfaction for the uninitiated. Do you observe young people? Have you seem them when one of their “trophies” tarnishes before their eyes and the inevitable disgust that follows? That is a good day! Do not run to console them with yet another trophy which will tarnish later. Let the day be good. And it will be good if and only if the truth is allowed to enter into their spirits that the things of this world will never truly satisfy. Therefore, don’t let happiness depend on trophies. If that is learned, then that day is good for them.
The psalmist in Psalm 73 talks about the goodness of God and how he almost missed it! He was blinded by the envy he had toward others who were filled with the things of this world, even their ill-gotten gains. It seemed there was no retribution for their sinful lifestyle. He lamented his plight of being poor in things and enjoyment, while living a good, wholesome life. It just isn’t fair!
No, it’s not fair, that some should live their whole life in the things of this world and never come to the truth of where the food in life really is! That so many live life with such a view that they never see below the superficiality of things, fun, and irresponsibility, shows the depth of how “shallow” our culture is. We fail to teach reality.
And what is reality? The psalmist found out. “Then I entered into Your sanctuary,” he tells the Lord. Then he found the truth of life, that the world and its pleasures are fleeting and its end is death. His last bit of wisdom declares, “It is good for me to draw near to God.” This is true because God is good, and is good to all who trust Him. And we find that some “truisms” are really true after all. That the good life Jesus offers which includes things beyond our imaginations’ capabilities to even dream about, is still free. -- Ben