Very beautiful words:

„Make sure that no one repays evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue(1377) good—both for one another and for all people.” 1 Thessalonians 5:15.

The word 1377 means to aggressively pursue, like a hunter striving for a reward. It is used both positively („earnestly striving for”) and negatively („zealous persecution, hunting”). In every case, 1377 signifies chasing with all haste („running after”), sincerely desiring to overtake (or stop).

How to pursue good?

When we meet a valuable person on our path, we should strive for their friendship.

According to Biblical advice, we should make every effort to ensure that this person becomes our friend. At first, they may just be an acquaintance, but as we consistently meet their expectations, the relationship can develop into a true friendship.

A true friend is a treasure, a source of happiness.
If that friend is your spouse, then you have discovered one of the treasures that God has given us.

Notice that the Bible is a treasure of motivation. It provides us with an abundance of guidance—on how to be happy, how to be healthy, and even how to live… eternally.

Even in this world, where stress surrounds us from every direction, it is possible to maintain a joyful spirit.

People who love the truth and love others are not valuable by accident. They have put in an immense amount of work into themselves.

After all, the world teaches people to steal, lie, deceive, and fall into addictions. A worldly person like this becomes a burden to others, possessing a demonic character—learning to destroy others for personal gain. Over time, they develop the nature of a narcissist.

We must run away from such people and close the doors of our lives to them. Otherwise, they will destroy us.

However, it is different if such a person needs our help. In that case, we can assist them, but only if we have the strength to do so. We must never allow ourselves to fall or adopt their views in the process of helping them. Instead of saving them, we may end up being pulled into their world.

A valuable person will not deceive, lie, or steal. They possess a strong character—one they have built through years of dedicated self-improvement.

If we have even one such person in our lives, things will already become easier. And if there are more, our lives will be much calmer, more joyful, and more pleasant.

However, for such a person to want to befriend us, we ourselves must be valuable—which means working hard on our character, our knowledge, our beliefs, our love, faith, humility, honesty, and more.

The Bible advises us to pursue good, and once we have caught it, we must not let it go but instead multiply it.

How do we do this?

First, we must reach that level ourselves. Then, we work with our spouse so that they too become such a person.

If we have children, we show them sincerity, love, and true faith.

A valuable person will NOT live in religious lies, NOR consider traditions to be the ultimate truth. For them, truth matters—not what others believe.

Moving forward…

Over time, our numbers grow. Now, we go out into the world and teach those around us this way of life.

This will not be easy. People love lies, they love to lie themselves, and they resist change. They prefer to complain.

But if we identify and nurture those who want to change, we build a better future.

It is difficult to be a truly valuable person without faith in God. However, if you meet people who do not believe but are still valuable, take a closer look—where do they draw their energy from?

Those with true faith have learned to draw their strength from God.

We can also draw energy from human creations—music, singing, poetry, film. However, this is more complicated because what we rely on for energy may turn out to be a rotten apple that looks beautiful on the outside.

One piece of Biblical advice is: „Test the spirits.”

„Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.” – 1 John 4:1

This means we should examine where the inspiration of a person—whose work we want to draw energy from—comes from.

Does someone sing about love because they truly have love? Or are they following some idol and seeking inspiration from that?

This is a very important distinction.

Drawing energy from someone connected to evil forces can become a trap for us.

Let’s pursue beautiful things

This verse about pursuing goodness can also be applied to the nature created by God.

After creation, God declared that He was pleased with His work:

“God saw all that He had made, and it was very good.” – Genesis 1:31

Since nature was created as something good, we should pursue that goodness. Let’s learn to draw joy, strength, and energy from the nature that surrounds us.

If we live near the mountains, let’s learn to love them.
If we live near the sea, ocean, or a lake, let’s appreciate those views.
If we have access to a beautiful forest, let’s benefit from its energy and beauty.

I know someone who suffered from depression. They lived near the ocean and a beautiful beach. They started going there for walks, and it helped.

Since nature can heal, let’s not wait until we fall—let’s pursue goodness now. Let’s find beautiful places and visit them regularly. Let’s rejoice in the nature God created.

It would be foolish to say: „I feel so good that I no longer need to pursue good things.”

And it would be even greater foolishness to return to an old, destructive way of living: