Lately -
I've been hearing a lot of people talk about their desire to be happy. I get that - really I do. I once used to be one of those people who
desired and was seeking happiness.
I did a
google search for "bible happy"- and came across an interesting site:
https://www.openbible.info/topics/being_happy
The
interesting part about the site is none of the Bible verses mention happiness
or "happy".
Which I
think is where a majority of people and a majority of Christians get it wrong.
Definition
of happy: feeling or showing pleasure or contentment
Definition
of joyful: feeling, expressing, or causing great
pleasure and happiness
Joy - in the
Hebrew comes from the word 'simchah' which means: blithesomeness or glee, (religious or festival):—× exceeding(-ly),
gladness, joy(-fulness), mirth, pleasure, rejoice(-ing)
While the words are quite similar - it would
seem they are also different.
The Bible teaches Christians to live by the
fruit of the spirit.
Galatians 5:22-23 - But the fruit of
the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against
such things there is no law.
To all people - where does it say happy or
happiness in that verse?
In my experience happiness is a temporary
feeling. I'm happy in this moment. Joy is a long term feeling. I may not be happy about my job, I may not be
happy about the amount of money I'm making and I may not be happy with how my
family or friends are treating me. But -
I can say I'm joyful - because I still have a roof over my head, I'm being
looked out for by the Lord God.
Again - the problem in the world is people
are seeking happiness. The Bible doesn't
teach such a thing. The Bible doesn't
teach - seek happiness. The Bible
teaches in Matthew 6:33:
But seek ye
first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be
added unto you.
Interesting
- if I seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness - happiness and other
things I am seeking will be added to me.
Do you see
the problems that we now have in the world and why we have them? A majority of people seek happiness first -
oh wait isn't that something selfish?
Hmmm...But you see - a majority of people seek happiness first and in
the process others are left out; they will continue seeking happiness and never
find it. As I already said - happiness
is a temporary thing. Seeking happiness
is where addiction may stem from.
Seeking happiness is where problems stem from.
There are 2
great commandments that Jesus gave in Mark 12:30-31:
Love the
Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind
and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this:
‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than
these.”
If you are
seeking happiness first - the questions you need to ask yourself are these:
·
Do you love the Lord with all your heart and
soul and mind and strength?
·
Do you love your neighbour as yourself?
·
More importantly - do you love yourself?
People who
tend to seek happiness are people who don't love themselves. They aren't confident with who they are.
Trust me - I
know from experience. I used to once
live a life where I sought after happiness and worldly things - and at one
point in time, I realized and actually asked myself this question: Is this all there is to life?
It wasn't
long after that - when I had my "intervention" with Jesus - and my
journey started. I no longer seek
happiness.
I share
these blogs with you - because I want all of you to know there's another way to
life. There's a better way where you can
be joyful, and have your moments of happiness.
I truly believe if everyone lived out the way of seeking God's kingdom
first - we'd all be happy and we'd have peace on Earth.
It is mostly
for these reasons and other of my blog posts that I believe we live in a world
that lacks God - and mostly because people reject God or reject his teachings.
Be blessed,
I love you
all!
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