The dangerous pursuit of happiness
Many of us have bought into the world’s view of happiness, which entails being secure, popular, entertained, in a relationship and self-fulfilled. Happiness, as the world preaches, may look fulfilling on the outside but is ultimately temporal. Deep contentment can only be found by resting in God’s unmovable love, peace, protection and joy. Only the one true God who created us and loves us without measure can fill us with all joy and peace as we listen to and obey His Spirit.
(See Chinese versions: 简体中文 > 对幸福的危险追求 | 繁體中文 > 對幸福的危險追求)
John 14:27 ESV Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
Romans 15:13 ESV May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
The dangers of pursuing happiness
The world preaches a doctrine that says we will accumulate happiness by practising consumerism, optimism, individualism, hedonism, intellectualism, perfectionism, workaholism etc. As we all know, such ‘isms will never be enough to satisfy our thirsty souls.
The more we accumulate or achieve, the more meaningless it becomes. What was once new and meaningful becomes outdated and boring. No matter how much we stuff our appetites, hearts, resumes and homes with, there will always be something more to keep striving towards. As the writer of Ecclesiastes points out, we simply end up “chasing the wind“.
Ecclesiastes 2:10-11 NLT Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere.
True happiness, security and fulfilment come as a result of who we are in a relationship with our Maker, not what we do or achieve.
A desire for happiness blinds us to God’s better plan
The perpetual pursuit of happiness is a dangerous mentality to bring into our relationship with God Almighty. Here is why.
1. Keeps us striving
Many things can bring us happiness but they can’t keep us happy forever. This creates a restless life that is focused on the next source of happiness. We curse ourselves into a state of constant dissatisfaction, thinking “Maybe if …., then I will be happy”.
John 16:33 ESV I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
God’s Word calls us to rest in Him. He is the source of joy, peace and contentment. Those of us who are used to chasing happiness will find resting in such a simple promise almost unthinkable.
Isaiah 30:15 ESV For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” But you were unwilling,
2. Points us to an outward focus when the answer is inward
There are many tangible sources of happiness we can spend money and time chasing.
However, it is not the tangible that is invaluable, but the invisible. We can’t buy good health, unshakeable confidence and deep peace or make someone love us unconditionally. All these are gifts from God.
Psalm 103:2-5 ESV Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Romans 15:13 ESV May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
When we establish a close personal relationship with the Creator of the entire universe, our lives will start to have great meaning and purpose. Suddenly, whatever we do will no longer just be “chasing the wind”.
3. Makes our love for God conditional on Him making us happy
If happiness is our goal, we will inadvertently expect God to make us happy too. We will pray for the things that we like and expect Him to serve them to us.
Our Creator promises us something much more valuable than happiness. He offers us a relationship with Him. The Bible does not talk about us becoming happy, but becoming holy and blameless. God promises to make us just like His perfect Son, Jesus Christ.
Colossians 1:22 NLT Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.
4. Blinds us to God’s plans for adversity and discipline
Happiness does not go well with adversity and discipline.
Adversity is a great teacher of wisdom and endurance. The discipline we need to learn and apply during adversity does not feel good nor make us happy. That discipline is however, necessary for us to become stronger, wiser and grateful for the lessons we learn. This training and self-control enables us to win a greater prize; character building that leads to greater eternal and good rewards in heaven for us. Chasing happiness can look frivolous in comparison.
1 Corinthians 9:24-25 ESV Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.
Job 5:17 ESV “Behold, blessed is the one whom God reproves; therefore despise not the discipline of the Almighty.
We need to be free from idolatry
Inside every human being is a deep desire for the peace, joy and hope that God promises us through His Holy Spirit. Without God, we simply follow the patterns of this world to chase happiness.
Philippians 4:7 ESV And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Romans 15:13 ESV May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
Anything that we place in higher priority than our Almighty Father becomes our idol. It is now time to put away our idolatry of happiness and to honour our relationship with God first. Unconfessed sins leave us unable to be “holy and blameless” in His sight. Before we continue to idolise happiness as our “saviour” and add yet another sin that blocks us from God, let us repent of our pursuit of happiness and pursue God instead.
Testimony: Repenting of inner vows to “be happy”
“I’ve been a Christian since my youth and had been determined to work hard to successfully climb the corporate ladder.
For the last few months, I had been feeling oddly unmotivated, heavy, and sluggish. This was very odd for me to be experiencing. I felt like there was something holding me back, and I couldn’t figure out what was having a stronghold on me. Therefore, I sought the Holy Spirit’s revelation.
The Holy Spirit revealed that I had made some inner vows to “be happy” and to “be good at everything I do”. These inner vows developed over time to mask the unhappiness, failures and disappointments I felt.
I was unaware that I held many other inner vows that were so deeply hidden. These inner vows drove my life. I often set very high standards for myself in my personal life and at work. As a result, I also set very high standards for people around me. Being disappointed with myself and others became a pattern in my life.
This unknowingly trickled into my spiritual life and affected my closeness with God.
I yearned for Him and did all the “right’ Christian things – praying daily, worshiping, reading the Bible regularly, going to church, serving in ministry and actively looking for opportunities to share the gospel in professional settings. I did all these in hopes of being in deeper relationship with God.
These were some of the high standards I held for myself to be a “good” Christian. But there were times I still found myself being disappointed with God. There were thoughts that seeped into my mind questioning, “If God is really that powerful, how could He let people ‘ruin’ my life?” when things didn’t go as I had planned. I realised I had been judging God based on my own set of laws and standards written on my heart. My own laws had been blocking me from hearing from God.
When God brought me to this realisation, I went on my knees and repented. I repented of controlling my own life, writing my own laws, holding judgements on my own life, believing that I won’t be successful in the things I do, imposing my own standards on my family and those around me etc. Ultimately, I repented for placing myself above Jesus, and for hurting everyone who was wounded by me without my realisation.
I was blinded by my own written laws. I had accused God of being distant, cold, and never satisfying my desires. I painted God with my own emotions.
The truth is, God is a patient, gentle, forgiving God; He loves and accepts me exactly as I am. He does not need me to strive to work for Him. I thanked God for the highs and lows in my life, everything He’s given and taken away from me, and the journey He plans for my family and me.
The Holy Spirit spoke to me. I had a vision of Him holding my head in His chest, saying “Come as you are, no more pulling on yourself. You are beautiful.”
That night, I had a vivid dream of God speaking to me, pointing me to Scripture.
He pointed me to Hebrews 12. I woke up and quickly looked them up. This was the first time I had ever experienced such direct communication from God. Praise God for His victory, and the Holy Spirit for leading me patiently and gently!”
May this sharing be a blessing to you as you seek to love God with all your heart and turn from the pursuit of happiness to the pursuit of the Lord.