I was recntly watching a show where the voiceover said they were giving someone “a taste of the 'good' life. My first question is, “Is there a 'good' and 'bad' life?” My next question is, “What or who determines what is 'good' or 'bad' and what values are used to determine 'good' or 'bad' “? My last question is, “Am I living the 'good' or 'bad' life?” And, if I'm not living the 'good' life, what does it take to live it?”
Apparently, it is believed that there is a 'good' and 'bad' life. I believe that the secular world and Judeo-Christian Protestant world have determined that the spirituality and pursuit of God and His pleasures are indicative of the 'good' life and the pursuit of bane pleasures and materialism is the 'bad' life. Of course, many of those within the pursuit of those selfsame aforementioned hedonistic pleasures are led to believe that they are living the 'good' life. It is a question of personal values and beliefs which leads me into and answers my next question of who or what determines 'good' or 'bad'.
My last question is self-examining: am I living the 'good' life? I would like to believe that I am. Within God's grace, I am striving after living within the will of God and striving to seek to bring glory to Him. In doing so, I would hope that I am NOT premeditatively seeking selfish pleasures and materialism.
A peek into my mind, to hear the thoughts of a 40-something single male as he walks this planet called Earth.
John M. Kirton II
DISCLAIMER: This is a personal weblog. The opinions expressed here represent my own solely and not those of The Village Church, her ministers, pastors, administrators, staff, covenant members, regular attenders or visitors; my parents; my alma mater, Dallas Christian College, her administration, faculty, Board, alumni, or students, past, present and future; or my employer and fellow employees.
My Story
- John M. Kirton II
- I attended public school for two years and private school for the remainder of my education. After graduation, I attended Bible college in Dallas, Texas, for four and one-half years consecutively. Unfortunately, I failed a class and was unable to graduate with my class but God enabled me to re-take the course and I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Bible and minors in Youth Ministry and Biblical Languages in 1994. After failing the aforementioned course, I had continued attending a church but began to falter in my faith. It was during my second year after my Bible college years that I was introduced to the International Churches of Christ (ICOC), where I became a member and was involved for twelve years. It was not until my twelfth year that, after much prayer from my parents and closest friends, Greg Faure and Wayne Stiles, I became convinced that the ICOC was a religious sect. In June, 2000, I left the ICOC and became a covenant member of The Village Church in Highland Village, TX, in April, 2004.
