A Life of Comfort

I don’t mind getting up early. I do mind not getting enough sleep. There is a difference. If I get seven and a half hours of sleep, I feel great and can get up at any time. If I sleep in too much, it may feel good at the moment, but later I feel groggy and like I’ve missed out and the day has gotten away. How about ice cream? I love ice cream, but if I eat too much of it, then I don’t feel well. The fact is we are obsessed in this day and country with comfort. Are you comfortable? I just want you to be comfortable. Now, I don’t think agony is a virtue, but all the time we hear the idea of everyone being comfortable. We are obsessed with comfort. Maybe we should be because I believe that God would have you to live a life of comfort.

First Thessalonians 5:14 talks about what we are to give. There are some things we are to give to all people, but we don’t give all things to all people. There is some distinction. For instance, verse 14 says, “Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient to all men.” When I say God wants you to live a life of comfort, what do I mean? What does comfort mean? As a noun that we seek, it means something that is satisfying, an enjoyable experience, ease. As for something we give, it means to give strength, hope, or to ease grief.

We find this idea of comfort as an action throughout this epistle. For instance, I Thessalonians 3:2 talks about Timothy, a “brother, and minister of God, and our fellowlabourer in the gospel of Christ” who was going to establish and comfort them concerning the faith. That is talking about giving them strength. It is not something Timothy was hoping to gain, to have a life of ease. He wanted to give comfort, specifically in the truth. I Thessalonians 4 talks about those who sorrow and have no hope, but as a child of God, we have hope beyond today. Verse 18 says, “Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” I am not to sorrow as those who live in ignorance and have no hope. I am to give the truth which is comfort.

First Thessalonians 5:11 says, “Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify [build up] one another, even as also ye do.” We are to build others up in the truth. I Thessalonians 5:14 says we are to “comfort the feebleminded,” which means faint-hearted. We are faint-hearted because we are feebleminded. We don’t know something, and there is no way you can really give comfort without giving truth. People don’t need to be anesthetized; they need to be given the truth. There is no comfort greater than the ultimate truth of Christ. So, give the truth. Don’t lie to your kids or your friends. Give them the truth.

Chapter 3 talks about the fact that Paul and his companions were appointed to some affliction because they were giving the gospel. I Thessalonians 5:9 says they had been appointed to salvation and not to God’s wrath. Both were truth. One truth was ultimate and greater than the other. There might be some contention now because I am giving the truth, but ultimately, I’m not appointed to wrath but to salvation. So, give the truth; give comfort. Comfort one another with these words. Whatever the hardship or difficulty, the truth is the answer.

Why should we comfort others? Why should I be living a life not to find comfort or ease but to give comfort, hope, and an easing of grief? There are reasons relative to God. Someone could say, “It’s the right thing to do.” That is true, but let me give you a couple of pragmatic reasons why we should be a source of comfort in the lives of others.

First, it gives me agency. That is to say I have choice about it. Can I choose to live my entire life in ease and comfort with no problems? No. I can anesthetize myself, eat ice cream and sleep all day, but it is not the same as giving comfort. Giving comfort is something over which I have a choice. It is a verb, an action. I give strength, give comfort, give hope to the grieving with the truth. I have agency when I give comfort to others. It gives me a choice.

Second, it gives me purpose. I can live on vacation. I love vacation, but after I’ve been rested on vacation, I’m ready to do something useful. Vacation is useful, but the usefulness is that it helps me feel refreshed for my tasks. So, giving comfort gives us purpose. Philippians talks of those whose god is their belly. Literally, they deify their own senses by gorging them in hopes of anesthetizing themselves against the inevitable, death. For a child of God, death is not the ultimate reality. Death has no sting and is swallowed up in victory. The strength of death is sin and Christ has given us victory over that. So, giving comfort gives agency, purpose.

Third, it ultimately gives me fulfillment. Maybe you need comfort or strength. Generally we get what we give. People use a lot of things to try to make themselves feel better, like a bowl of candy, sleeping in, or the weekend. None of these are intrinsically bad, but they all have diminishing returns, meaning you don’t get back as much as you’d like and as you did the first time. There are no diminishing returns when you are a source of God to give. You are giving truth; therefore you are giving comfort.

First Thessalonians 3:7 says, “Therefore, brethren, we were comforted over you in all our affliction and distress by your faith.” That is interesting because Paul and his companions had comforted these people concerning their faith and now they were comforted by the Thessalonians because their own faith was being strengthened. In other words, Paul was strengthened because he gave strength. He got what he gave. Verse 8 says, “For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord.” He drew encouragement by the results of the encouragement he had given to others.

The sum and substance is that though I can seek all I want, I am not going to live a life of comfort, but I can give comfort by giving the truth. When I give the truth, hope, and ease the grief of others, it gives me agency, something I can chose; it gives me purpose, something beyond myself; and it gives me fulfillment because I get what I give. The Lord would have you to live a life of comfort. We do that by giving the truth to people in our world today.