better is

"All the days of the afflicted are evil: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast."

"Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith."

"Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith."

Proverbs 15:15-17

The Bible is a book of "better is." Our lives are all about choices, and Scripture is eager to point us in directions that will bless our lives and fill them with good things.

Most of the better things, according to God, have little do with material concerns. In fact, when we compare them, the treasures of the heart are seen to be far greater than those of the belly or the pocketbook. Solomon points to this truth in these, three of my favourite verses in Proverbs.

His first "better is" is a merry heart. This verse always reminds me of Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Scrooge possesses an afflicted heart: he is miserly and miserable. His poor-as-a-churchmouse nephew Fred, on the other hand, lives a golden life because the merriment in his heart overflows and turns every smile and streetlamp into a feast. Life feeds him because he greets it with cheer.

Cheer is not something we talk much about these days, preferring to discuss deep, spiritual joy. But while transcendent joy is important, Solomon reminds us that cheerfulness has value, too.

The second "better is" is the fear of the Lord. I talked about such fear in my last post, where I said that we fear God because He is who He is--and He is good. The fear of God fills our lives with awe and wonder. It protects us from making decisions that would bring harm. Ultimately, it moves our lives away from unreality and makes us authentic.

The third "better is" of Proverbs 15 is love. Christians have known and celebrated this truth since Jesus first lived it for us so gloriously. Love, for God and each other, is the deepest need of our hearts and the greatest joy of our lives. I'm reminded of a line from Fiddler on the Roof. Tevye, speaking of his daughter and son-in-law, says, "They're so happy they don't know how miserable they are." They had nothing but love, and that was more than they could contain.

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13 that if we have faith enough to move mountains, if our understanding is perfect and our tongues eloquent, we are nothing if we have not love. The beauty is that no Christian need be without it. Jesus Christ has given His life for us in the greatest act of love anyone could possibly imagine. Through His Spirit, that love is given to touch us, to indwell us, and to pour out to others.

Better is life with Christ, I say, than the treasures of heaven and earth without Him.