How to invest in life

Though one day we may die, all the other days are opportunities to truly live. We die once, but every other day is a day to live. So, how then do we live? What constitutes a life carefully invested, as opposed to a life recklessly spent?

In money matters, we frown upon reckless spenders. Many have ruined their own lives and those dependent on them through reckless spending. Short-term pleasures from reckless spending weigh little against long-term suffering. The outcomes of reckless spending are a heavy and crushing burden. Careful investment for the benefit of oneself and others is far better. Everybody knows this. Still, people continue to be reckless spenders until they have nothing left to spend.

But, how do we fare in matters more important than our money? Are we recklessly spending our lives, or are we carefully investing day by day? Do we recklessly spend our lives until we have nothing left to spend? Do we lose out on life and lose life prematurely because we did not get our priorities right? Unfortunately, the most frugal in money matters may still be reckless spenders of life with outcomes far more devastating than ruined finances. A ruined life, now or in the future, is a high price to pay for failing to invest appropriately in life.

So, how then do we live as careful investors in life? Where may we faithfully invest in order to reap the greater gains for ourselves and others?

The fundamental principles for life may be traced back to the origin of mankind. In Eden, which name is linked to the Hebrew words for ‘delight’ and ‘pleasure’, God intended life to be good. God created life and the world to be abundantly beautiful, delightful, pleasurable, and rich. From the Genesis account of the origin of mankind, we may explicate five fundamental principles for life.

1.     Receiving
Life for mankind was a gift. After having received the breath of life from the mouth of God, Adam and Eve were given each other and the world. Adam and Eve were given everything – life, each other, and the world. Life is based on receiving what God gives and there is nothing to desire beyond what He has given.

Unfortunately, since then mankind has striven to take what he* was not given and has trusted himself rather than relied on God. Adam and Eve were given everything, except the fruit of “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Gen 2:16 NIV).  But Eve desired and ate exactly that, Adam shared in it, and evil and death ensued. Whenever man craves and claims something God has not given, evil and death are the outcome. Only what God has given is good. Therefore, our first principle of living abundantly is to appreciate, be content with, and be grateful for what God has given.

2.     Resting
Life for mankind began with rest. After having received so abundantly, evening fell, and Sabbath began. The Sabbath was the last day of God’s creation week, but the first full day of man’s life. Though he had not done much and was not tired, he was invited to rest in what God had done. Nothing can be added to what God has done. What He has done is sufficient and good.

Unfortunately, since then mankind has violated restful living in spirit and body. Man tends to trust his own works rather than God’s work, and he violates the Sabbath rest and the nightly rest. Man needs spiritual rest, and he needs the weekly and the nightly rest. If these needs are not honored and met, he will be recklessly spending his life. In the circadian rhythm of Eden, the night precedes the day. Rest precedes work, both in the spiritual realm and the physical realm. Therefore, the second principle of living abundantly is to invest in restful living in the spirit and in the body.

3.     Connectedness
In the creation story, God affirmed again and again that all he created was good. Still, even before sin entered, he pointed out one thing that was not good. “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him” (Gen 2:18 NKJV). Adam entered life in the delightful Garden of Eden and fellowshipped face to face with the Creator God. Still, it was not enough. It was not perfect, it was not sufficient, it was not good enough. God lay down in the heart of man a desire for something more – the desire for companionship with someone his equal.

Unfortunately, since then mankind has tended to become either overly materialistic or overly religious to the neglect of his fellow men. Underlying either is selfishness. As man cannot live fulfilled without the intimate loving relationship with the Creator above him nor the Creation below him, neither can he live fulfilled without the intimate loving relationship with the Creature beside him. We are created for fellowship with others of our kind – in marriage, family, friendships, and the larger communities. Therefore, our third principle of living abundantly is the harmonious connection with the Creator above us, the Creatures beside us, and the Creation below us.

4.     Activity
In creation, mankind was appointed to be the reflection of God as he ruled over the Creation in the image of the Creator. Though he could never add to God’s creation, he was “to tend and keep it” (Gen 2:15 NKJV). Through this activity, he would be blessed and stay healthy.

Unfortunately, since then mankind has exploited and abused the Creation rather than cared for it. Rather than being the guardian of Creation, man has become its greatest adversary. Through the estrangement from Creation, from tending and keeping it, man himself is suffering. Physical inactivity is a leading cause of lifestyle illnesses, and lack of purpose and meaning in work is prevalent. This is not what God intended for the ones created in His image. Therefore, our fourth principle of living abundantly is activity in harmony with what we are created for.

5.     Nourishment
As God gave Eden for man to live in, he also provided what man needed to live off. At creation he was to live off the fruits of the trees in the Garden (Gen 2:16). After the Fall, he would also eat food from the ground and plants of the field (Gen 3:17-18). Then, after the Flood, he was allowed to eat animals (Gen 9:3). Despite the permission to eat a variety of foods, a balanced whole-foods plant-based diet with supplementation of essential nutrients, Vitamin B12, and others as needed, is still the best man can live off whenever and wherever it is available. What God made and intended cannot be improved upon.

Unfortunately, mankind has desired to eat what was not allowed or intended. Instead of whole-foods, man created refined foods. Instead of plant foods, man often prefers animal foods. As a consequence, we suffer, animals suffer, and nature suffers. When we go contrary to what we were created for, then Creation is subjected to pain and death. Though Creation is degenerate after millennia of sin and foods are not what they were in the Garden of Eden, we may still strive to nourish ourselves primarily on the foods God created us for. Therefore, our fifth principle of living abundantly is to nourish ourselves with real foods, not artificial man-made substitutes of what God provides through nature.

When we allow God to be the center of our lives and receive what he has abundantly provided, then we may enjoy the richness and blessings of a carefully and faithfully invested life, and not recklessly spend what has not been given to us.

*’He’, ‘himself’, ‘man’ and ‘men’ in this article is generic for men and women.