No doubt you have heard the old saying “He is as happy as a fat pig in the sunshine.” The reason a pig can be happy, with his belly full and the sun shining, is that in all likelihood he does not know that he is going to wind up on some one’s dinner table in a few short months. As a human being, aren’t we glad that God has given us a mind that we can use to think, reason, and make choices? I know I am. Now, for the reason I have begun my column this way. The universal goal for human beings is to be happy. No one wants to fail and be miserable in life, at least not in the beginning.

Unfortunately, a very large number of people, maybe millions, wind up very unhappy and take their own life or just live in misery all the time. Hopefully today, I can shed a little light on this situation and offer some enlightened comments that will make life a whole lot better for people in this condition.

Really, happiness and success are all about choices. There is a universal law that controls everything in the universe called “Cause and Effect.” When completely understood, this will make the odds of being happy and successful go up tremendously. The law of “Cause and Effect” says that for every cause there is an effect, and for every effect there is a cause.

Here is the bottom line: when we make good choices this law works for us, and when we make bad choices this law works against us. In all my years of schooling, including a little college, I can’t ever recall when a teacher explained this to me. What I have really come to appreciate is this law is unfailing and works every single time. It is like the law of gravity. If you fall or walk off a tall building you will always go down, you will never go up.

Here are some choices that work for me: I don’t use drugs, smoke, vape, drink alcohol, gamble, use profanity, run with immoral or ungodly people, do my best to be honest, tell the truth and treat others as I wish to be treated. Now, let me be clear, the people who do these things are not all bad people. But I think you can see that the people who do these things are increasing the odds that one or more of their choices will cause them serious problems down the road. It is only then that they realize they have made a bad choice.

Now, you know that I am not a preacher, but I am a born-again Christian. I talk with the Lord all the time and ask Him to direct my thoughts and to help me make wise choices. This is especially true when it comes to marriage. When we seek His will for our lives and marry the right person, we will not only be blessed but be “as happy as a fat pig in the sunshine.” To be sure, God knows our heart and when we seek His counsel, the odds are much better that we will also be successful.

I also know that sometimes God takes care of us when we don’t know enough to take care of ourselves. After my wife passed away almost 10 years ago, in time He sent me Janis, and she is a true winner and I can truthfully say, “She is the best thing that ever happened to me.”

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(Jim Davidson is an author, public speaker, syndicated columnist, and Founder of the Bookcase for Every Child project. Since its inception in the Log Cabin Democrat in 1995, Jim’s column has been self-syndicated in over 375 newspapers in 35 states. For a personalized copy of “Your Future Begins Today” send $20, which includes postage and handling, to Jim Davidson, 2 Bentley Drive, Conway, AR 72034.)