There are no more disconcerting words to me than these: “You have a right to happiness.” Sometimes, happiness is a term to justify selfishness.
Happiness, although thrown into the Bill of Rights by Thomas Jefferson, is not really a Christian imperative. We act like it is – using it as an excuse to leave a spouse, to buy unnecessary possessions, to gorge ourselves at the buffet line of life. This supposed right we have has justified divorce, infidelity, relationship abandonment, job dismissal and all sorts of rash decisions made before a situation could be resolved.
I am a happy person – and I consider my outlook to be positive. It is my faith that sets the table for happiness. But to pursue happiness creates all kinds of ugly situations. Read Malcolm Muggeridge’s thoughts on this:
” slipped into the American Declaration of Independence along with “life and liberty” as an unalienable right, almost accidentally, at the last moment. Happiness is like a young deer, fleet and beautiful. Hunt him, and he becomes a poor frantic quarry; after the kill, a piece of stinking flesh.”
The pursuit of happiness has morphed into the pursuit of money. Recently there was a report that the magic ‘elixer’ of compensation was $70,000. Earn less than that, and you’re not happy. Earn more than that, and you are.
This is why we see people doing ugly things to get promoted, to get ahead. That’s why the meanest and ugliest rats win the race. That’s why we have corruption and greed and shenanigans going on in business.
Jesus calls us to a different kind of pursuit — joy.
Joy is found not in pampering our soul, but pleasing our Creator. God isn’t impressed with our money, with our titles, with our fame. He looks at our heart, at our character, at our souls. The pursuit of happiness is trumped by the quest for joy.
“Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.”
Think about the following:
Where does true happiness come from?
Not in unbelief — Voltaire was an infidel of the most pronounced type. He wrote: “I wish I had never been born.”
Not in pleasure — Lord Byron lived a life of pleasure, if anyone did. He wrote: “The worm, the canker, and the grief are mine alone.”
Not in money — Jay Gould, the American millionaire, had plenty of that. When dying he said: “I suppose I am the most miserable man on earth.”
Not in position and fame — Lord Beaconsfield enjoyed more than his share of both. He wrote: “Youth is a mistake; manhood, a struggle; old age, a regret.”
Not in military glory — Alexander the Great conquered the known world in his day. Having done so, he wept, because, he said, “There are no more worlds to conquer.”
Jesus claimed to give true happiness when he said, “I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man can take from you.”
What gives you happiness?
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