The Road to Gladness

PEOPLE WHO LOVE WHAT’S GOOD AND HATE WHAT’S WRONG TEND TO BE MORE SATISFIED WITH LIFE.

Bible Reading of the Day: Read Psalm 45:1-7.

Verse of the Day: “You love what is good and hate what is wrong. Therefore God, your God, has given you more gladness than anyone else” (Psalm 45:7, TLB).

Dad pointed out the car window to the high fences and stone towers of the prison they were passing on their way to a farm auction miles away from their home in the city.

“Look,” he told his daughters, Pam and Stephanie, who sat in the back seat.

“What’s that?” Pam asked.

“It’s a prison,” Stephanie answered her younger sister’s question, the tone of her voice implying, Don’t you know anything?

The sight of the prison made Dad think of something. “Hey, girls,” he said, “who do you think has more fun in life: people who love God and try to do right, or people who like to do wrong?”

“That’s easy,” Stephanie said, still gazing at the high prison fence topped with razor wire. “People who like to do right.”

“Why?” Dad asked.

“Because they don’t have to go to prison,” Stephanie answered.

“What about people who don’t get caught doing wrong? They don’t go to prison. Do you think they’re happier than people who do right?”

Stephanie thought about that. “I guess so,” she said, although she hated to admit it.

“Uh-uh,” Pam disagreed. She thought of a boy in her class at school. “Jimmy Masters is always doing bad things, and he gets away with it all the time.”

“Do you think that makes him happy?” Dad asked.

Pam shook her head vigorously, causing her ponytail to flap back and forth behind her head. “He’s never happy. He doesn’t like anybody, and nobody likes him.”

“Do you think he’d be happier if he tried doing right?” Dad asked.

“Maybe,” Pam answered with a cheerful shrug. “He wouldn’t be so mean all the time, and he might make friends with someone.”

Dad smiled. “You know what, Pammy? I think you’re right. I think that’s one of the reasons God wants us to do right. People who love what’s good and hate what’s wrong tend to be happier and more satisfied, because they experience the blessings that come from doing good-the way God intended in the first place.”

TO DISCUSS: Who do you think has more fun and happiness in life: people who love God and try to do right, or people who like to do wrong? Explain your answer.

TO PRAY: “Lord, we want to love what is good and hate what is wrong. That way, we’ll experience the satisfaction that you promise.”