Summary

Nicer car, bigger house, whatever your heart desires. Everybody wants to live The Good Life. But what happens when dreams become nightmares and the promise of freedom leads to a life of imprisonment? What happens when you discover that all that's gold loses its glitter? Maybe the rich and famous aren't living The Good Life. Maybe our dreams are rooted in lies. And maybe, just maybe those who have less really have more. What is The Good Life...really? In this book, titled after his acclaimed fourth album, The Good Life, Christian rap artist and author, Trip Lee, unveils what the world, the flesh and the devil promote as the ultimate and most satisfying life. He then explains what The Good Life really is: a life within our reach and yet beyond anything this world has to offer. Imagine: The Good Life.

Author Biography

WILLIAM LEE BAREFIELD III, better known as TRIP LEE, is a Christian hip-hop artist under the Reach Records label. Trip Lee's music has topped Billboard charts, the iTunes chart, and has received Dove nominations and a Stellar Award. His Christ-centered and God-exalting music has reached thousands with the Good News of Jesus Christ.Trip Lee now resides in Washington, DC with his wife and is finishing his Biblical and Theological Studies degree with Boyce College. Trip's unending desire is to proclaim the grace and beauty of Jesus Christ to anyone that will listen. Ultimately, he hopes this journey will someday lead to pastoring a church.

BOOK SECTIONS: Section I: What is the Good Life? (Chapter 1: Don't Eat the Fruit; Chapter 2: The Good Teacher; Chapter 3: Redefining the Good Life) Section II: How Do I Live the Good Life? (Chapter 4: The Good News; Chapter 5: The Good Book and "Good" People; Chapter 6: Good Choices; Chapter 7: Good Stuff; Chapter 8: Good Times; Chapter 9: Good Outcomes Section III: What Kind of Good from God Should I Hope For? (Chapter 10: No Good Thing Withheld; Chapter 11: Great Expectations; Chapter 12: Your Best Life Later)

Supplemental Materials

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Excerpts

I was eleven years old.I was sitting on the floor in my bedroom, shoes off and headphones blaring. There was nowhere else I'd rather be than in my space, with my music. The deep bass piercing my eardrums was supplied by Jay-Z's Vol. 2, The Hard Knock Life, my favorite album at the time.

On track fourteen, Jigga and JD brag, "In the Ferrari and Jaguar switching four lanes, top down, screaming out money ain't a thing."1 Yes, I had the clean version, so my ears were shielded from the foul language, but not from all harm. There is no edited version that removes worldviews.

What I thought was just fun music was actually far more. When I hit play on my portable CD player, I was going to class. They weren't teaching me math and grammar, but they were teaching me how to view the world. They were lecturing me about what my aspirations should be, and what is most important in the world. And unknowingly, I was a star pupil. I ate it up and believed the lie that Ferraris and Jaguars are what life is largely about. If I wanted the good life, I needed the money, the cars, and the girls.

Rappers weren't my only teachers though. I heard lessons every day from my parents, my schoolteachers, my friends, and my favorite TV shows. Every day I was bombarded with messages and images that shaped my perspective on life. And I'm not alone. Every single one of us has an idea about what "the good life" is, and we've learned it from somewhere. In the same way our region dictates the accent we speak with, our environments and influences shape our ideas about life.

Every time you hear an idea or observe a behavior, you're being presented with a message. And as we take those messages in, we can either reject or accept them (though we often do this subconsciously). We shouldn't be asking whether or not we're being taught; there's no question about that. We should be asking whether or not we're being taught well...We need a better teacher.

Lyrics rom"Robot"

Hey I was born "less than human," I know it sounds crazy

But I was really born a robot as a baby

No real life in me, I just played my role

No self-control, I just did what I was told

I got my first order, I was just a day old

But I didn't have a chance 'cause my heart was way cold

My heart took the orders, it couldn't break the mold

I was sold under bondage and I couldn't take control

So I was just chillin' in my robot clothes

With my robot friends and my robot flow

Livin' robot ways 'cause that's all I know