What do the ways of the past have to do with our lives today? What do the insights that drove our forebears to build the ancient temples have to say to the fast-paced modern sensibilities that built the malls and skyscrapers?
"There is no simple rule, no mechanical procedure that will guarantee that we can find our way through the varieties of voices and the vagaries of history to discover the truth of the worthiness of our shared humanity. But we need that truth. In moments of quiet amidst the unsustainable pace of our lives, it calls to us. It calls forth something from us."
—Miroslav Volf, Matt Croasmun, & Ryan McAnnally-Linz
Ancient Voices in Modern Life
It’s not simply that we struggle to make sense of the ancient and the modern together. These are not two voices, but rather two collections of many voices. In reality, there are many different voices that beckon to us from the past. The Buddha, Confucius, and Jesus—among many others—each has their own things to say, each in some sense contends for our allegiance. Each has his own vision of what matters most.
And of course our modern world is at least that fragmented. Modern life moves fast. It changes fast, too. A phone or other gadget that was high tech two years ago can be a cause of embarrassment today. Culture and ideas can feel the same. What was incisive yesterday will provoke a yawn today. In the midst of all this change, it can be hard to find our bearings. And once we find them, it can be just as hard to keep them.
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Ancient sources can’t simply answer every question for us. The world has changed. Even ancient questions have new stakes and have taken on new shapes. To hear the wisdom of ancient traditions for a modern world requires a modern ear and a willingness to think the old and the new together.
Discerning What Matters Most
Download to find out the three virtues the authors suggest as a starting point for discerning what matters most.
We could go shopping at a good-life food court. That would be to sell ourselves short. Discernment is different. It asks more of us. It involves reflecting on what goals are worth pursuing in the first place and then choosing to embrace those goals.
From the New Preface to Life Worth Living: A Guide to What Matters Most
Welcome—and well done! In taking up this book, you’ve given yourself a tremendously valuable gift: the gift of time. Time isn’t easy to come by these days. So many demands fill our days. So much information comes at us moment by moment. So many voices clamor for our attention. In the midst of all this, you’ve made the choice to pick up a book—and not just any book, but a book that purports to be able to help you consider what matters most. In the midst of what is urgent, you’ve chosen to take time for what is important. That’s no small thing.
Two of us have had the good fortune to visit Seoul, one (Miroslav) honored to be invited to deliver lectures and the other (Matt) honored to be visiting with the Korean family he married into more than twenty years ago. We walked the city streets, experienced its vibrant energy, and ate its food (such delicious food!). It doesn’t take long to be struck by how the ancient and the modern sit side by side. Centuries-old temples and gates stand beneath soaring skyscrapers and high technology.
To us, the city seems to be posing a question:
What do the ways of the past have to do with our lives today?
Sign up to download today, and don't forget to grab your own copy of the bestseller, Life Worth Living: A Guide to What Matters Most. Visit lifeworthlivingbook.com today to purchase a copy and download another freebie: the accompanying 56-page discussion guide that will lead your own discernment, chapter by chapter through the book.
Ancient Voices in Modern Life
What do the ways of the past have to do with our lives today? What do the insights that drove our forebears to build the ancient temples have to say to the fast-paced modern sensibilities that built the malls and skyscrapers?