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What Is Happiness?

Title: What Is Happiness? Series: Questions by the Psalmist Text: “Blessed is the man” (Ps. 1:1). Scripture Reading: Psalm 1:1–6 Introduction In the 1920s William Lyon Phelps published a little book titled Happiness. That many wish either to become or remain happy is evidenced by the popularity of this book: not only was it reprinted thirty times during the eight years following publication, but it was still in print nearly fifty years later. The writer of Psalm 1 does not attempt to define happiness; he illustrates it. He shows us that happiness is not in our circumstances; it is in ourselves. Happiness primarily concerns not the externals of life, but the condition of our spiritual health and the degree of our intimacy with God. What is happiness? Four affirmations will help us toward an understanding. I. Happiness is a matter of proper balance. Not only does all work and no play make Jack a dull boy; it is also apt to develop him into a neurotic, cross-grained man. People who enjoy being sad are not saintly; they are sick. Piety does not manifest itself in a sigh any more than in a smile. A hearty laugh is a truer mark of nobility than a cynical sneer. On the other hand, pursuing pleasure for pleasure’s sake is equally harmful. To make the quest of pleasure the whole end of living is to court disillusionment. Modern socialites slave to have a good time; in fact, they are slaves to their good times. They are merry, but they are also tired, nervous, and bored. The point of these examples is that one’s life must have balance if he or she is to be happy. II. Happiness is a matter of a true sense of values. Happiness is the ability to appreciate the best things, the highest values. Happiness depends on other factors besides merely having a good time. That happiness can be bought by those who have the price is a popular heresy today, but it is a heresy. The truth is that it can be gained only by those who live by God’s principles. The unhappiest people in the world are those who can pay the price of everything and know the value of nothing. III. Happiness is a matter of outgoing interests. A. We must be interested in other people. To eat and drink may make one merry, but it is more fun if one eats and drinks with someone else. Oliver Wendell Holmes once described happiness as “four feet on a fireplace fender.” Happiness is a product of relationships. No individual can attain real happiness alone. In our relationships with others, however, we must have their welfare in mind. To be happy we must consider the other person’s right to be happy. No one can build happiness on someone else’s unhappiness. B. We must be dedicated to a cause worthy to claim our best. The happiest people are those who are so immersed in some great cause that they don’t notice if they are happy or not. These are the people with singing hearts. When you get to the heart of the religion, you will find a song. True happiness is the most persuasive herald the gospel has in the world. Millions live unhappily because, while they have something to live on, they lack the supreme condition of a happy life, something to life for. IV. Happiness is a matter of Christian hope for the future. If we are to be happy, our lives must be pointed in the right direction. Deep down in our hearts, we know that we are immortal. English philosopher James Martineau once said, “We do not believe in immortality because we can prove it; we try to prove it because we believe in it.” Everywhere and in every culture the faith in an eternal tomorrow exists. The universal verdict of humankind is that this life is not all there is. For the Christian the rainbow of a larger hope rims the horizon of eternity. Conclusion “Blessed (or happy) are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled” (Matt. 5:6). All other quests end in futility. Those who are hungry for pleasure become disenchanted and bored. Those who are hungry for possessions drop the keys to their safe-deposit boxes when they die. Those who lust for power, even if they gain it, are robbed of their scepters and shorn of their royal purple when “the night cometh.” But those who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness will be fully satisfied—not once, but again and again as spiritual appetite returns.