Do you consider yourself a happy person? If you had to complete the following sentence, “I would be most happy if ________,” how would you fill in the blank?
Acclaimed journalist Jon Krakauer once thought he knew how he might answer a question like that. Two decades ago, this thrill seeker assembled a team to ascend Mount Everest. Tragically, 12 of his peers died during the expedition, souring what previously seemed like a peak goal. In his book, “Into Thin Air,” Krakauer records his reaction after finally reaching the highest point on earth.
“Straddling the top of the world,” he wrote, “one foot in China and the other in Nepal, I cleared the ice from my oxygen mask, hunched a shoulder against the wind and stared absently down at the vastness of Tibet. . . . I’d been fantasizing about this moment, and the release of emotion that would accompany it, for months. But now that I was finally here, actually standing in the summit of Everest, I just couldn’t sum up the energy to care. . . . I snapped four quick photos . . . then turned and headed down. My watch read 1:17 p.m. All told, I’d spent less than five minutes on the roof of the world.”
Maybe you can relate?
Seeking fulfillment
Your Mount Everest was a wedding day, a promotion, a dream vacation, or a sought after award. But whatever it was, and whenever it came, it simply was not as fulfilling has you hoped. After getting what you wanted, you still weren’t happy. Why is this so often the case? And, if I may ask an even stranger question, does God even care? Is our happiness really on the divine radar?
At this point, some will be quick to make an unbiblical distinction between happiness and joy. The former is based upon circumstance while the latter is the result of what we know, or so they will say. The problem with this understanding is that Scripture frequently uses the concepts of happiness and joy interchangeably (see Esther 8:16; Psalm 16:11, 32:11, 92:4; Prov. 23:25; Jer. 31:13). Thus, God prioritizes happiness and joy equally.
This clarification is important because, frankly, the church is sometimes guilty of treating notions of happiness as unimportant and unspiritual. We say things like, “God cares more about your holiness than your happiness.” Admittedly, we should acknowledge that there is a sense in which this is absolutely true.
Far too many are quick to justify sinful behavior with the reckless claim, “God would want me to be happy!” A backslidden husband might use this rationale in defense of leaving his wife. The immorality of sexual sin is often dismissed with the same claim. We might lie to avoid consequences while also making a similar assertion. Those looking to soothe their consciences despite narcissistic tendencies are sure to boast a version of this error. And, in these cases, we would do well to remember that God prioritizes our holiness ahead of our happiness.
The problem, however, is that illustrations like these unintentionally imply that being holy is the opposite of being happy. Though the priority of the statement is often true, the presumed dichotomy is not. While God’s ultimate goal is the holiness of His people (Eph. 5:25–27), we should not falsely assume that this agenda is contrary to our happiness. In reality, you will be MOST happy when you are MOST holy.
False notions
Any notion that God is the enemy of our happiness is patently false.
Every good and perfect gift meant for our enjoyment is from above (James 1:17). The Lord longs for His righteous ones to be glad, rejoicing before Him continually (Psa. 68:3). The view that God is a cosmic killjoy is just plain wrong. We forget that in God’s presence is fullness of joy and in His right hand there are pleasures forever (Psa. 16:11). When your life belongs to the Lord, happiness and joy will follow.
Practically, every temptation to sin is nothing more than an invitation to pursue happiness in the wrong way because it is based upon the lie that we can find happiness outside the will of God. When God says, “You shall not,” He is graciously protecting us from harm and disappointment. Warnings against sins are really a roadmap to peace and joy.
All of this means that a relationship with God is the key to lasting happiness. I am not suggesting that unbelievers can never know joy, but it will be temporary apart from Jesus Christ. Nor am I implying that Christians will enjoy lives of ease. But, abundant life is possible in world that is desperately broken (John 10:10). The blessed favor and approval of God in your life can satisfy us at the deepest level of existence, bringing lasting happiness no matter what may come.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Adam Dooley, pastor of Englewood Baptist Church in Jackson, Tennessee, and author of “Hope When Life Unravels.”
Share with others: