Happiness or Holiness?

Is happiness your god?

For most of us, if we were to stop and really examine this question, the answer could very well be yes.
Most people are in pursuit of happiness, whether knowingly or unknowingly.

Does God want us to be happy?  It really all depends on how happiness is defined.

Does God want us to have everything we want. Most people, whether knowingly (with words) or unknowingly (with thoughts and actions) would say yes.  However, God is not concerned about us getting everything we want.  I know that not everyone agrees with this statement, so let’s take a look at what Jesus says about happiness. 

In Luke 11:28 Jesus says, “Blessed (i.e. happy)….  are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

God, our creator, has given us a formula for our happiness.  Seeking to please God in obedience will never leave us disappointed.

So how does this relate to SFT?  The more we seek happiness – for everything to go our way, the more we get disappointed, frustrated and hurt.  Until we change our mindset from seeking happiness to seeking holiness we will continue to experience pain as a result over and over again.  But the question remains, how do we do this?

In addition to obeying God in becoming a Christian, I believe much of the answer is found in Luke 6:27-36 in how we treat others in order to bring glory to God.  Jesus says:  “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you…. then your reward will be great (Luke 6:27,28,35).”  More detail on how to apply this principle is found in Romans 12:9-21.