Purity Pays

The title is obviously a turn-off, but it will do you a lot of good if you suspend your dislike and continue reading. “Honest words are averse to the ears and good medicine is bitter to the taste,” (忠言逆耳，良藥苦口) goes a Chinese saying.

“Having a good laugh everyday will prolong your lifespan by over ten years,” says a TV commercial. “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushing spirit dries up the bones,” we find in the Scriptures. Happiness is the key to good health and longevity, but what is the key to happiness?

Purity is the key to a happy and joyful life. Don’t believe this? Just put this to the test. I have found this to be true through my own experience. Find me a miserable person and I will find you a person who is addicted to sin of some sort. God created us to be instruments of righteousness and goodness and the more we fulfill this purpose, the more joyful our lives will become. This idea is hardly new, but it is time-tested and true.

Doing the right thing can be very exhilarating and life-redeeming. Succumbing to sin may bring fleeting pleasure to our flesh, yet the aftertaste is quite bitter. Some of us have experienced the feeling of emptiness and remorse the morning after whatever we did the previous night. Unnatural sweetness often has a bitter taste to it. A cup of water tastes good after we have had a piece of cake or an ice cream sundae, doesn’t it.

I may be oversimplifying it, but some forms of depression may be caused by our dissatisfaction with ourselves and our low-esteem, and one of the main causes of self-loathing is our inability to remain pure in our daily lives. I tend to get depressed if I don’t do what I should do and do what I ought not to do.

What is purity? You may ask this and not stay for an answer. “Love God and follow your heart,” suggested one theologian. Don’t do what your heart tells you not to do. That’s our conscience, the place where we hear the voice of God.

I have been trying to be funny in my posts, albeit not very successfully, but I would do my young readers a great disservice if I didn’t get serious occasionally. I will come up with a more light-hearted one next time, if I don’t lose all my readers by posting this solemn blog.