Longevity With Peace

Terry Siverd
08/16/20 - Sun AM

Link to sermon video: Longevity With Peace - T Siverd

LONGEVITY WITH PEACE

Sermon By Terry Siverd / August 16, 2020 / Cortland  Church of Christ

Throughout the month of August all are invited to join us for a two-pronged reading assignment:  a chapter a day from Proverbs and one psalm daily.

Over the last 15 years or so, Jeannie and I have visited many cemeteries.   This is due primarily, not to the numerous funerals I have officiated over during my 40+ years of ministry, but rather because of two highly-energetic dogs - - Sigfried and Bo.  When you walk at cemeteries, if you pay attention to the grave markers all around, every once in a  while you will come across a testimony of L-O-N-G-E-V-I-T-Y - - ones who lived long on this earth.  Many, many years ago, Moses wrote words recorded in the 90^th psalm (Ps.90:10a) saying, As for the days of our lives, they contain seventy years, or if due to strength, eighty years...  Ages that would have pushed the outer limits in the days of Moses, have now become the norm.  The average life expectancy for an American citizen is 77 years.  Better nutrition (some might argue that point); improved work environments and medicines have helped to push the envelope of longevity with quite a few now living into their eighties and nineties.   When Moses wrote this prayer psalm, he included this petition:  so teach us to number our days, that we may present to The a heart of wisdom (Ps.90:12).  The numbering of our days that Moses alludes to is not so much the “counting” of our days, as it is making our days count.  This is not just a play on words, but represents a way of living that seeks fulfillment in faithfully loving and serving our God above as well as those all around us.

Most of us want to LIVE LONG.  Seldom do you hear anyone say, I want to die young!  If we did hear someone say such we'd probably find ourselves concerned about their state of mind.  We might even urge them to get a check-up and/or seek counseling.

Yet, LENGTH OF DAYS (or years of life) does not by itself promise a GOOD life.  Have you ever known a person who lived a long and protracted but tortured life?  Another Old Testament volume that belongs in the collection called wisdom literature is the writings of Job.  Job is likely one of the oldest books in our entire Bible.  While Job was neither a psychologist nor an anthropologist, he offers a rather realistic view of mankind, saying - - Man, who is born of woman, is short-lived and full of turmoil (Job 14:1).  Some people live long, but there days are filled with misery and suffering.  Would any among us wish this upon himself or herself:  I want to live long even though I'm wretched!?

Open your Bibles to Prov.3:1-5 - - My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments; for LENGTH of days and years of life, and PEACE they will add to you.  Do not let kindness and truth  leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart, so you will find favor and good repute in the sight of God and man.  Nesting here in the midst of this wonderful passage is the summum bonum, a term used by the ancient Greeks to describe the highest good … the greatest good … the ultimate pursuit … the singular end.  

What most of us long for is a LONG LIFE WITH AN ABUNDANCE OF PEACE.

Shalom is an Old Testament word that is often translated by the word peace.  Shalom or peace is not just the absence of conflict, but it is the presence of joy and tranquility.  The life that Solomon urges his sons to pursue is a life that is filled with and guided by Divine wisdom.  This life, anchored in wisdom of the Lord, promises a truly desirable combo:  longevity and peace.   - - the very two precious ingredients we most yearn for in this life.  In yet still another volume from the OT wisdom literature - - this time the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon exposes the vanity or emptiness of a life that is self-centered - - a life untethered to God.  With a powerful crescendo, he summarizes the essence of man's pilgrimage on earth (Eccl.12:13) - - The conclusion, when all has been heard, is fear God and keep His commandments, because this is the whole of man.

Have you thought much lately about psychosomatic integrity?  You might be inclined to respond that you've never thought about such and that you've never even heard of the term, it's just another one of those “Terry terms” that makes our brain go numb.  Actually all of us know the concept - - there is a built-in, pre-designed harmony in our bodies.  In our desire to live healthy and happy lives we soon realize that THERE IS A WHOLENESS TO LIFE.  It is almost impossible to be truly healthy in body (soma) if our mind (psyche) is all out of whack.  As David affirms in Ps.139:14, we humans are fearfully and wonderfully made.   This marriage of our psyche with our soma (mind and body) is marvelous to behold, but it also has some serious ramifications for everyday living.  If we try to chart our own path (without God's wisdom) we will make ourselves miserable.  As Jeremiah the prophet once wrote (Jer.10:23) - - a man's way is not in himself; nor is it in a man who walks to direct his (own) steps.  If, in spite of our failure to comply with God's ways, we come to live long the odds are very great that our multitude of years will not be garnished with the abundance of peace.  Living a L-O-N-G life might be deemed somewhat noteworthy, but that which makes life truly remarkable is to live a life filled with tranquility - - a peace that passes all understanding (Philp.4:7).  The tranquility of which we speak is not just harmony with our family and friends, it is a blessing that comes when we are at peace with God.  And the peace of which we speak is not just the being at peace that comes when we breathe our last breath and cease from our struggles, it is a peace that abides and abounds when we walk daily hand in hand in the will of our Maker and Savior.  It is that ever-present peace of mind and soul that comes from living a faith-filled life.  As Paul wrote (Rom.5:1) - - therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.  

All throughout the proverbs we encounter contrasts:  self-governed versus God-directed.  Life overflows with ethical and moral choices:  immorality or purity? … industry or laziness? … haughtiness or humilty? … hatred or love? … lips that babble or lips restrained? … wickedness or goodness? … kindness or meanness? … fairness or cheating? … generosity or stinginess? … discipline or unruliness? …  One choice after another.  In all of this we hear the voice of Solomon telling his sons (Prov.8:34-35):  blessed is the man who listens to me … for he who finds me, finds life and obtains the favor of the Lord.  The “me” in this text is “God's will and God's wisdom”.

Dear heavenly Father:  Grant us a clear mind so that we might trust You with all of our heart.  Give us insight to see the hurt and harm we bring to ourselves when we lean on our own understanding.  In all our ways, help us to acknowledge You, knowing that You will make our paths straight.  Through Christ, our pathfinder and the prince of peace, we pray.  Amen.