The Search for Right Answers

How can I safeguard my health?

What can I do to make my family life happier?

How can I improve my chances of keeping a job?

HAVE you ever asked any of those questions? Did you find practical answers that really worked? Each year, some 2,000 different books are published that offer advice on these and other important subjects. In Britain alone, readers spend as much as 80 million pounds (about $150 million, U.S.) a year on books offering advice about how to cope with life’s challenges. In the United States, sales of self-help books generate about $600 million a year. You are certainly not alone in seeking good advice on how to deal with everyday life.

Regarding the advice found in this avalanche of publications, one author said: “Many new books merely repeat what has already been written.” Indeed, much of the advice found in these books simply echoes the wisdom recorded in one of the oldest books in the world. This book is by far the world’s most widely distributed publication. It has been translated in whole or in part into some 2,400 languages. In total, more than 4.6 billion copies have been printed globally. It is none other than the Bible.

The Bible plainly states: “All Scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness.” (2 Timothy 3:16) Granted, the Bible was not written as a self-help manual. Its primary purpose is to reveal God’s will for mankind. Even so, the Bible has much to say about how to cope with the problems common to us all, and it promises that those who follow its direction will learn to benefit themselves. (Isaiah 48:17, 18) When applied, its practical counsel always works, regardless of a person’s ethnic, cultural, or educational background. Why not consider the following article and decide for yourself whether what the Bible says on such subjects as health, family, and employment is practical?