“Now I care far more for how humanity lives than how long. Progress, for me, means increasing goodness and happiness of individual lives. For the species, as for each man, mere longevity seems to me a contemptible ideal.”
C.S. Lewis (1898-1963) in “Is Progress Possible?” essay in God in the Dock (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1970) 347.
What do you care most about? Many people today pour lots time, energy, and money into living longer. Some argue they do this because they are afraid to die. Lewis suggests rather than focusing on living longer, we should consider how we are living. Why? In the words of William Wallace (Braveheart, 1995): “Every man dies, not every man really lives.”
Let us resolve today to really live. Let’s choose to use all the strength, giftedness, and resources we have for God to increase the goodness and happiness of others. Don’t do this just because Lewis or I say so. Let’s do it because it’s what Jesus did (cf. Peter’s description of Jesus in Acts 10:38)!