Joy Versus Happiness - Protestant Caucus/Devotional

Not long ago it was common to see bumper stickers proclaiming every conceivable source for happiness. One said, "Happiness is being married." Another countered, "Happiness is being single." One cynical sticker read, "Happiness is impossible!"

For most people happiness is possible but it's also fickle, shallow, and fleeting. As the word itself implies, happiness is associated with happenings, happenstance, luck, and fortune. If circumstances are favorable, you're happy. If not, you're unhappy.

Christian joy, however, is directly related to God and is the firm confidence that all is well, regardless of your circumstances.

In Philippians 3:1 Paul says, "Rejoice in the Lord" (emphasis added). The Lord is both the source and object of Christian joy. Knowing Him brings joy that transcends temporal circumstances. Obeying Him brings peace and assurance.

Joy is God's gift to every believer. It is the fruit that His Spirit produces within you (Gal. 5:22) from the moment you receive the gospel (John 15:11). It increases as you study and obey God's Word (1 John 1:4).

Even severe trials needn't rob your joy. James 1:2 says you should be joyful when you encounter various trials because trials produce spiritual endurance and maturity. They also prove that your faith is genuine, and a proven faith is the source of great joy (1 Pet. 1:6-8).

You live in a world corrupted by sin. But your hope is in a living God, not a dying world. He is able to keep you from stumbling and make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy (Jude 24). That's your assurance of future glory and eternal joy! Until that time, don't neglect His Word, despise trials, or lose sight of your eternal reward. They are key ingredients of your present joy.

Thank the Lord for any difficult circumstances you might be facing. Ask Him for continued grace to see them through His perspective and not lose heart (Gal. 6:9).

Be aware of any sinful attitudes or actions on your part that might diminish your joy. Confess them immediately.

When the Declaration of Independence refers to the pursuit of happiness, "happiness" was the English translation of the Greek term eudemonia, an Aristotelian term meaning a life that is lived well. It was something you pursued, because it was the combination of necessary goods in life (health, knowledge, companions, sufficient wealth) which take a lifetime to successfully fulfill.

When Jesus says that people are "happy" or "blessed," "happy" is the English translation of the Greek term makarios, meaning to be lengthened or enlarged. Those who do what the Beatitudes suggest will be enlarged by what they receive from God: e.g., if you hunger and thirst after righteousness, you shall be filled.

Neither of these has anything to do with the dopamine kick (or alcohol/drug high) that most people associate with happiness. Running after that kind of "happiness" will always result in ultimate failure, perhaps eternal failure.

Conservatives who pursue eudemonia following Aristotle's teachings will achieve a life that was lived well, but will have nothing to show for it when they die--this is the main lesson of Ecclesiastes:

I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish? Yet they will have control over all the fruit of my toil into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless. So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun. For a person may labor with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then they must leave all they own to another who has not toiled for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune. (Eccl. 2:18-21)

So in the end, we should pursue, not "happiness," not eudemonia, but makarios, the blessedness that comes from living the life Christ has made possible for us through His salvation and our discipleship.

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