The Pursuit of Happiness

 November 8, 2024

Friday

When I ask what people want for their children, the answer is almost universal: "I want my children to be happy." It seems very natural to want this but this also can get in the way of children knowing what will bring them joy.

Happiness revels in the moments of satisfaction. Happiness can be created with a great meal, an adventure or even something sinful. Happiness has very little to do with morality.

Happiness is fleeting. It can come in a moment and disappear the next. Even winning the lottery doesn't bring lasting happiness as lottery winners will attest. Many of them say they wished it had never happened. 

Happiness is often attached to the things of this world. These are physical pleasures, money and possessions, and pride. These three things can be taken from us at any moment. It is as if life teases us with these things to make us believe that they are ours forever.

Happiness is a never ending pursuit. The toy you bought your child today will not give them the same happiness tomorrow. More toys become necessary. I suppose that is why it is hard to get through most children's bedrooms. Toys are everywhere. Parents kept trying to make them happy.

Well balanced people know that happiness is nice but joy is the real prize. Joy comes from doing what needs to be done rather than what will always make them happy. They sacrifice to put things in their proper order. Things out of order are part of the recipe for crisis. Dishes will pile up, clothes will go unwashed, bills will go unpaid, jobs will be lost, marriages will fall apart and the very things that brought happiness will be taken away.

The pursuit of joy goes beyond the moment. It tills the ground, plants, waters and reaps a harvest. It sees the work as necessary to have that harvest. It knows that every failure and test makes joy more reachable. People can, therefore, rejoice in those tests and failures even though these hard times  do not make them happy.

It would be more important to instill the value of joy in our children than to try to make them happy. But parents would need to be the example to their children,

In our church, we have parents take their children to worship with them at five years of age. That doesn't necessarily make the parents or the children happy. We know that the best people to teach the children how to worship are their parents. The children are often unruly for a while but they learn and they are always listening. We also know the statistics for children who don't go to worship after age five. They do not become solid Christians later in life. We are seeking joy rather than happiness and it has taken a toll on our attendance. Reaching joy is much harder than having happiness.

So, do what you need to do even if it steals your happiness. In the end, you will be much better off.

Proverbs 1:8–9 (NASB 2020)⁸ Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction, And do not ignore your mother’s teaching; ⁹ For they are a graceful wreath for your head And necklaces for your neck.