The fear of the Lord adds length to life, but the years of the wicked are cut short. (Proverbs 10:27)
Long life is in her [Wisdom’s] right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. (Proverbs 3:16)
He who hates ill-gotten gain will enjoy a long life. (Proverbs 28:16b)
The entertainment industry seems preoccupied with youth and the beauty and strength associated with it. This preoccupation has percolated into the entire culture as evidenced by the ubiquitous advertisements for products that (1) keep you young, (2) make you look young, or (3) extend life and vitality. However, the entire “youth culture” typically overlooks one key ingredient in retarding the effects of aging—righteousness.
When Solomon and his friends declare that the “fear of the Lord” adds years to one’s life, they are not, I believe, talking about some mysterious or miraculous divine intervention which lengthens a person’s life span. I believe they knew that righteous living insulates a person from a host of dynamics which tend to shorten one’s life.
Principle: The single most significant factor in longevity is avoiding the evil thoughts, actions, and relationships which shorten life.
When our children were young, and my wife and I were bent on instilling godly wisdom in them, we noted stories of terrible things that happened to people. Then we analyzed together where the people were and what they were doing to make them more vulnerable to the calamity they experienced.
One such dinner table story was of a young woman in our community who lost a limb by a violent attacker. When we analyzed the story, we discovered the woman met this stranger outside a bar in a rough section of town in the early hours of the morning and got into his car with him! Pretty stupid to be where she was, be there when she was, and to trust the one she trusted. While this act of folly didn’t cost the young woman her life, it cost her the quality of the rest of her life.
Principle: Acting out that which does not reflect God’s moral law is guaranteed to knock years off your life; doing the right thing is a guaranteed life extender.
Quite apart from circumstantial peril which can shorten one’s life, the internal destruction of evil is equally life-shortening. Worry, bitterness, hatred, envy, covetousness, rebellion, ill-motivated anger, guilt, fear of discovery, and unteachability steal life from a person one day at a time by eroding away the “life power” from the human spirit. By contrast, peace, forgiveness, love, service, generosity, worship, confession, and joyful obedience all allow the omnipotent Spirit of God to infuse the human spirit with divine energy for living.
Principle: The power which sustains and lengthens life is Spirit, and long life is in the grasp of the one energized by the Holy Spirit, not the “unholy spirits” which erode life by degrees.
[from “Wisdom for the Trenches” by Dr. Larry W. Poland]