Living a Rich and Full Life: God’s Path to True Abundance

The Longing for the Good Life

Although there is much evil in this world, and our days may be marked with some hostility and grief, Peter outlines some key points to experiencing a rich and full life. Every human heart longs for “the good life”—days marked by satisfaction, meaning, and blessing rather than emptiness, struggle, and regret. Culture offers countless prescriptions: wealth, success, pleasure, power, fame. But Peter, quoting Psalm 34, reveals God’s radically different path to abundant living.

The person “who would love life and see good days” isn’t the one who accumulates the most possessions or experiences the most pleasures, but the one who aligns their life with God’s righteous design. This isn’t legalistic rule-keeping to earn God’s favor—it’s living how God designed humanity in the beginning. When we live according to His ways, we experience the flourishing He intended. When we violate His design, we reap the natural consequences of going against the grain of creation.

Four Requirements for Abundant Living

Peter identifies four interconnected practices that characterize abundant life, rooted in God’s character and design.

Pure and Honest Speech

First, “let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit.” Pure and honest speech forms the foundation. Our words reveal our hearts and shape our relationships. Evil speech—gossip, slander, cruel criticism, vulgar language—poisons communities and destroys trust. Deceitful speech—lies, exaggerations, half-truths, manipulative flattery—undermines integrity and damages relationships.

The person who loves life controls their tongue. They refuse to participate in gossip even when everyone else does. They speak truth even when lies would be more convenient. They use words to build up rather than tear down (Ephesians 4:29). This requires constant vigilance because our tongues are “set on fire by hell” (James 3:6) and naturally inclined toward evil. But the Spirit enables us to speak with grace, truth, and love.

Disdain of All Things Evil

Second, “let him turn away from evil and do good.” Disdain of all things evil and turning away from any form of evil means more than avoiding obvious sins—it means cultivating genuine hatred for evil in all its forms. We don’t flirt with temptation, rationalize small compromises, or maintain one foot in worldly living while claiming to follow Christ. Instead, we actively turn away, redirecting our attention, affections, and actions toward what is good, pure, and honorable (Philippians 4:8).

“Do good” is the positive counterpart to turning from evil. We don’t merely avoid wrong—we actively pursue right. Instead of merely refraining from harming others—we look for opportunities to bless them. Not only do we avoid evil, but we also fill our lives with good works that reflect God’s character and advance His kingdom. This proactive goodness flows from hearts transformed by grace, not from duty or attempts to earn favor.

Pursuing Peace

Third, “let him seek peace and pursue it.” Pursuing peace and living peaceably with all men, as much as is up to us, doesn’t mean avoiding all conflict or compromising truth. Rather, it means taking initiative to create harmony, resolve disputes, heal broken relationships, and promote unity wherever possible. “Seek” suggests intentional searching—we look for ways to make peace. “Pursue” implies active effort—we don’t passively wait for peace but actively work toward it.

This pursuit often requires sacrifice. Making peace may mean apologizing first, forgiving the unrepentant, absorbing wrongs without retaliation, or giving up our “rights” for the sake of harmony. It means being “quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger” (James 1:19), assuming the best about others, and extending grace generously. In a culture that celebrates winning arguments and getting the last word, this peacemaking marks Christians as distinctive.

Doing All for God’s Glory

Fourth, let’s root this in the foundation that makes this transformation possible. We do all these things for the glory of God, knowing it is God’s will for us to work through the righteousness that we have been granted through Jesus. We don’t pursue righteous living to earn salvation or prove our worth—we live righteously because God has already granted us righteousness through Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). Our good works flow from salvation, not toward it.

Living for God’s glory transforms motivation. We don’t control our tongues to impress others but to honor God. We don’t turn from evil to maintain our reputation but because we represent Christ. We don’t pursue peace to be admired but because God calls us to be peacemakers. When God’s glory becomes our aim, we’re freed from the exhausting treadmill of people-pleasing and empowered to live with integrity regardless of human recognition.

God’s Attentive Response

The promise attached to this way of life is stunning: “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers.” God’s attention is on those who do His will. He is attentive to their prayers. Those in tune with God and living as they should are more likely to pray according to His will, which He is faithful to answer and work out all things for their good.

This doesn’t mean righteous people never suffer or that God grants every request. It means God watches over His righteous ones with fatherly care, paying special attention to their needs, circumstances, and prayers. When we pray according to His will—prayers shaped by His word, aligned with His purposes, submitted to His wisdom—we can pray with confidence that He hears and responds (1 John 5:14-15).

The contrast is sobering: “but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” God’s face being “against” evildoers doesn’t mean He stops loving them or refuses to save them if they repent. It means He actively opposes those who persist in evil, setting Himself against their plans, allowing natural consequences to unfold, and eventually bringing judgment if they don’t turn. This should motivate both godly fear among believers and urgent evangelism toward unbelievers.

The Abundant Life Redefined

Peter’s teaching radically redefines abundant living. Culture says the good life comes from getting what you want—wealth, pleasure, power, fame. God says the good life comes from becoming who He designed you to be—righteous, truthful, good, and peaceable. Culture says satisfaction comes from accumulation. God says it comes from transformation.

This matters practically because we make countless daily choices based on what we believe will produce “the good life.” If we believe culture’s lies, we’ll pursue things that ultimately disappoint—temporary pleasures that leave us empty, achievements that don’t satisfy, relationships built on deception rather than truth. But if we trust God’s wisdom, we’ll invest in what truly produces flourishing—godly character, honest relationships, good works, and peace.

The beautiful irony is that those who pursue God’s version of the good life often experience more genuine satisfaction than those chasing culture’s promises. Controlling your tongue prevents countless regrets. Turning from evil and doing good creates clean conscience and meaningful purpose. Pursuing peace builds deep relationships. Living for God’s glory provides an unshakeable foundation that circumstances can’t destroy. This is the rich and full life God offers—not free from trials but anchored in truth, not absent of suffering but full of meaning, not marked by constant ease but characterized by deep satisfaction in knowing you’re living as God designed.

Reflection Questions

1. In what area of life are you most tempted to pursue culture’s version of “the good life” rather than God’s path—through wealth, pleasure, success, or recognition? What would it look like to pursue God’s design instead?
2. Peter identifies speech as the first requirement for loving life. How would your relationships change if you consistently “refrained your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit”? What specific speech patterns need to change?
3. “Seek peace and pursue it” requires initiative and effort. Is there a broken relationship where you need to take the first step toward reconciliation, even if you weren’t the primary offender? What’s holding you back?
4. How does knowing “the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous” and “His ears are open to their prayers” affect your prayer life? Does it motivate you to pray more confidently or to align your prayers more carefully with God’s will?

Prayer

Consider how God’s path to abundant living differs radically from culture’s promises—true satisfaction comes not from getting what you want but becoming who He designed you to be through righteous living.

For additional study on Christian growth, consider these related devotionals and series:

• Fruit of the Spirit Series
• Beatitude Series
• Adding Virtue With Diligence: Transforming Faith Step by Step
• The Proverbs 31 Woman: A Portrait of Strength, Wisdom, and Grace