Happiness: exactly what is it? What does it mean to be happy and how do we get it? There are many definitions to what happiness is for instance, George Burns a comedian once said, "A man doesn't know what true happiness is until he gets married...then it is too late." The British author, Oscar Wilde said it this way, "Some cause happiness to be wherever they go...others, whenever they leave." So, what is happiness and where do we find it? Let me first offer where you won't find it. You won't find happiness in this crazy culture to which we are living in today. In order to express it biblically, you won't find it in this world ever. This is because the happiness of this world basically depends on good things happening to you and your loved ones. If things are going reasonably well then we consider ourselves happy. If things are not going so well, we find ourselves no longer happy.
Here is what you need to understand about happiness. There are two sources of unhappiness. One is not getting what you want in life and the other is getting it. There might be some reading this and thinking that if they were wealthy then they would be perfectly happy. But there are many times that the very thing we wish for ends up becoming a curse to us. Let's consider a man by the name of Juan Rodriguez who won the Mega Million Lottery on November 23, 2004. An article reported that since that day that he won the winning ticket he has found nothing but trouble. In fact, relatives said the parking lot attendant was a lot happier man when he had filed bankruptcy two days before winning the jackpot. Juan, who was 49 at the time, had now lost his wife who also filed for a divorce and who demanded half of the winnings. Here Juan was sitting all alone in a motel hiding from his relatives who were chomping at the bit for a share of the wealth while all the proceeds were frozen in a court filing until the divorce could be settled.
There are some things that money can buy and other things that money can't buy. For example: Money can buy you a bed, but it can't buy you a good night of sleep. It can buy you books, but it can't buy you brains. It can buy you a very nice house, but it can't buy you home. It can buy you medicine, but it can't buy you health. Money can buy you amusement, but it can't buy you happiness. And in the words of St. Paul, St. John, St. George and St. Ringo..."Money Can't Buy You Love." Therefore, how can we truly be happy people? A Gallop poll was taken which produced the results that spiritually committed people were twice as likely to report being happy than the least religious people. So, the conclusion is that religious/spiritual people tend to be happier people. Let me take this a step further if I may. Godly people are happy people.
According to the Bible, if you seek to know God and discover His plan for you...as a result you will find the happiness that eludes so many in this life. We must not seek happiness; but rather seek God and you will find happiness. The Bible teaches, "Happy are the people whose God is the Lord." You see, God designed us to turn to Him for fulfillment, contentment and happiness through our relationship with Him. So, the idea is to seek God and happiness will follow. Henry Ward Beecher said, "The strength and happiness of the man consists of finding the way in which God is going, and going in that way too!" Therefore, within Scripture we can know with a certainty that God wants us to be happy. But here is the twist on it: God's definition of happiness just might be a little bit different than our take on it.
If you want to know how Jesus views happiness you will find it in His Sermon on the Mount. This sermon reveals the worldview of God. It is a biblical worldview that is considered by this modern world as being old fashion and out of date with the times. Yet, the Sermon on the Mount teaches us how we are to live in this crazy culture. Our worldview's are comprehensive; meaning it affects every part of our life. It affects our morality, the way we look at money, and even to the way we view politics regarding laws and benefits. Therefore, it is highly important that we have a biblical worldview; otherwise we will violate God's principles and thereby reap the consequences whether a nation or as an individual. What do we mean by a biblical worldview? It mean's to have the same worldview that God has.
· Let me offer you a simple definition of having a biblical worldview. A Christian worldview is the belief that there is one God who is in control of the universe; all knowing, all loving and who is righteous and good. Who has a plan for our lives and has revealed that plan to us through the pages of Scripture within the bible. A Christian worldview accepts the teaching that the bible is the absolute truth and all authority that one builds their beliefs and lives from.
· Do you want to know how Jesus thinks? Then study His Sermon on the Mount. Do you want to know how His heart really beats? Then study this sermon. Do you want to know what He feels and thinks about the issues of life? Then study this sermon. It's the official manifesto of the King of kings and the Lord of lords.
Another point I wish to make here is that the Sermon on the Mount was not given to the multitudes; by that I mean it was not given to the world at large. The Sermon on the Mount was not a philosophy by which we should govern society. Why? It is because people don't believe in God for the most part, and they would not take to heart Jesus' worldview taken from the Sermon on the Mount anyway. The Sermon on the Mount is for believers only. It's possible that there are some unbelievers out there that might actually admire its teachings and see some value to its lessons. But only a follower of Jesus Christ can live these out; and there are times that even a follower of Jesus Christ will find themselves struggling with these when they fail to remain in the spirit of that truth. Nevertheless, this is God's worldview no matter what we have to say about it in our worldly thinking. The beatitudes are the beginning of His Sermon on the Mount. There are eight of them total. The first four deal with your relationship with God and the final four deals with your relationship with people. Why do we call them the beatitudes? It is because they are attitudes that should be in our life as believers in the Lord.
Beatitude number #1
The word "blessed" will be used at the beginning of each of these beatitudes which is interchangeable with the word: happiness. So, let's read these beatitudes that Jesus spoke to His disciples and to us His followers.
Matthew 5:3-10 (HCSB)
3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, because they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the gentle, because they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, because they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful, because they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, because they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, because they will be called sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
The nonbeliever has no idea what a real blessing is; because only a true child of God knows what it is to be blessed. It's notable that Jesus' ministry began and ended with blessing people. Do you remember those two discouraged men on the road to Emmaus where Jesus joined them and how He had blessed them with His words? And then there was the time that these particular children came up to Him where He took them up in His arms and blessed them. Jesus loved to bless people. But what does it mean to be blessed? The word means happiness.
- It means our happiness is independent of our circumstances; it is self contained no matter what else is going on around us.
- It means regardless of what's happening to you externally, internally you can be a truly happy person.
Let me make this observation: if you are going along in life and the bills are all paid and life is reasonably good and there are no conflicts at home and things are going great with your career; you might say I am a blessed man or a blessed woman. Yes you are!
But let's say things aren't going all that well. Your health's not that good and maybe other areas of your life are not going to well either. Yet, I want to make this statement to you: You are still blessed! Why? It is because of your relationship with God and the favor He places over you. Look what the apostle Paul spoke:
Philippians 4:10 (Phillips NT)
10 It has been a great joy to me that after all this time you have shown such interest in my welfare. I don't mean that you had forgotten me, but up till now you had no opportunity of expressing your concern. Nor do I mean that I have been in actual need, for I have learned to be content, whatever the circumstances may be. I know now how to live when things are difficult and I know how to live when things are prosperous. In general and in particular I have learned the secret of facing either poverty or plenty. I am ready for anything through the strength of the one who lives within me.
See here is the thing: the biblical definition of blessedness/happiness is different from that of the culture we live in. If we were to rewrite the beatitudes for the 21st century they would be "way" different then we just read from the bible. Modern beatitudes would sound something like this:
- Blessed are the beautiful, for they shall be admired;
- Blessed are the wealthy, for they have it all.
- Blessed are the popular, for they shall be loved;
- Blessed are the famous, for they shall be followed and treated like gods...
Jesus starts the beatitudes with a bombshell: blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Now, let's understand what this means and what it doesn't mean. Some have falsely interpreted this passage to mean blessed are the poor, broke, and destitute financially. This is not what Jesus was teaching in this sermon. In addition, this is not to say you can't be poor and still be blessed either; for you surely can be. But that is not what He is teaching here. In fact, the bible does not commend poverty anywhere in the bible, nor does it condemn having wealth. This beatitude has nothing to do with your bank account. No, it says blessed are the poor in spirit. So, what actually does it mean when you put it all together? The word "poor" is from a verb meaning to: shrink, coward or cringe as beggars often did in that century.
This speaks of the person who was destitute and completely dependent on others for their help. And this is not just speaking financially either. Therefore, the idea in this first beatitude is: here is a man or a woman who has seen themselves as they really are before God. They are lost. They are hopeless and they are helpless; because apart from Jesus everybody is completely bankrupt or poor in spirit regardless of their education, wealth, accomplishments or even religious knowledge. To be poor in spirit is to acknowledge you are spiritually bankrupt; and that you are in desperate need of God. Yet, there are some people who do not like this lowly perspective of themselves. These types of folks think they have a lot to offer even if it's unto God, believing they have much to offer in their own ability. No you don't!
You bring nothing to the table. You are depraved, you're a sinner, and you're in need of a Savior. It is His grace and His mercy that is being offered to you, and you have to see that to go any further with God. And I can tell you with all honesty that this is hard for most people to accept. Sometimes it's harder for men than women; because men can be very proud. Whereas, girls can be too of course. But sometimes we are held back by our self appraised intelligence; or we say things like: I have my talents, trophies, money, and accomplishments that I trust in and I don't need anyone else. Yet, I will point out that you and I are poor in spirit no matter what you think about yourself. A great example of this is the story about General Neman. He was a Syrian war hero who was highly decorated. He was a leader among men who was powerful and very influential. He was admired...and oh, one more thing...he was a leper; and when you were a leper back in those days that was a death sentence. There was no course of treatment, there was no medication that you could take...you were basically going to die and Neman knew this. I don't know how many knew in fact that this great general was a leper, but he sure knew it.
He heard there was a prophet in Israel that prayed for people to be healed and his name was Elijah. So, General Neman made the journey to visit this prophet of God. I can imagine seeing Neman all decked out in his decorated uniform with his entourage of Special Forces following closely behind him; and he shows up at the door of this prophet. I might add I don't think the place where this prophet was living was anything fancy by any means which made this even more difficult for Neman who was used to being honored and respected as a leader. So, we find in our story that Neman knocks on the door, but Elijah the prophet wouldn't answer the door himself; so he sent his servant in his stead.
Elijah already knew what Neman had come for and the servant of Elijah begins to instruct Neman to go immerse himself in the dirty Jordan River seven times and you will be healed. Got it! And then he shuts the door in Neman's face. Now, I believe Neman like many of us didn't want to reveal his true state of being as we often care more about our reputations even to the point of forfeiting our moment of freedom. This was a test that warred with Neman's own pride because underneath that gleaming armor was his real repulsive condition. Most reading this devotional know how this story unfolds as Neman stepped down off his high horse (pride) revealing his condition to everyone that was standing near when he bent down and dipped in that river seven times. When Neman followed the instructions of the prophet of God, it is here that he became whole. You see, Neman humbled himself and for the first time saw himself as he really was, poor in spirit. That can only happen when we no longer hide behind our pride and self-glory.
If you want to be a happy person, you have to see yourself as you really are: "A sinner in need of a Savior." Spurgeon said, "The way to rise in the kingdom is to sink from always appraising yourselves to be more than you are." C.S. Lewis once said, "We have need of seeing the filthiness of who we really are and just how depraved and ugly that we continually act from these lives apart from God's influence over us." Wow! We don't here things like that thundering from our pulpits today. We hear things like: we are all champions, and we are successful, and prosperous. Yet, Jesus taught that we are poor in spirit. If you want to be happy, you have to see yourself as you really are and you have to be sorry for it; and then you have to want His change in your life.
The classic story for this is where Jesus shared about the sinner and the Publican, who went into the Temple to pray. The Pharisee actually prayed this to God: Father I thank you that I am not like other men. You know you are really messed up when you pray a prayer like that. Yet, the sinner didn't even raise up his head while he beat on his chest and cried: Father forgive me "the" sinner. And the literal meaning was that he didn't see himself as one of many, but the only sinner! He was so overwhelmed over his own sin that he couldn't even look up. He saw his moral bankruptcy and as far as he was concerned everyone else's sin paled in comparison to his.
Now, most of us do just the opposite of that in order that we might justify our sin, because we can always find others who are far worse then we are in our own eyes. Yet, this sinner went away justified as the bible tells us. Why? Because he saw himself as he really was without the measurement of someone else in order to put himself in a better light. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. This brings us to beatitude number two:
Happy people are unhappy people. Yeah, you heard me right. Happy people are unhappy people.
Beatitude number #2
Matthew 5:4 (HCSB)
4 Blessed are those who mourn, because they will be comforted.
Another way to interpret this is: happy are the unhappy. The word "mourn" here is the Greek word grief. It is reserved to mean the same as mourning the dead. There is blessedness in mourning. Someone might say well how so? Well, some good things can come out of it such as:
- One of the things is you gain is a new perspective on life. You see things differently. Some of the things that you thought were important are not nearly as important as you once thought them to be; and some of the things that weren't important to you become very important to you. For starters you gain a greater desire for heaven. Why? When you lose someone special it brings out the reality of how much you miss them; and knowing they are in heaven brings that place to be much more desirous in your sights. So you think more about heaven and kingdom purposes. You long more for heaven and you begin to understand what matters most in life and what doesn't. You also begin to see this world for what it is and what it isn't. That this world is not our permanent home, but a place that we will eventually leave far behind. You find yourself drawing closer to God, because quite frankly there is nowhere else you would rather be.
- You become aware that no person has the answers you are looking for in life. No thing can give you the charge or thrill that you are looking for in life. You come to realize there is nothing, or no one that can help you, but the Lord Himself. Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted. So, you see there is something that we can call: "Good Grief" and this is not to delibertly take a quote from Charlie Brown either. Jesus wept, and men tend to suppress their sorrows and hold them in. Yet, God sees and knows our sorrows and He cares about them:
Psalms 56:8 (NLT)
8 You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.
Can you find comfort in your sorrows? Absolutely! But let us look at this passage contextually to its truest meaning. It is to mourn over our spiritual condition. Sadly, there are people today that are laughing...that ought to be crying.
James 4:8-9 (NLT)
8 Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.
9 Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy.
Solomon is a man who went on an extravagant sin parade and this is what he concluded:
Ecclesiastes 2:1-3 (NLT)
1 I said to myself, "Come on, let's try pleasure. Let's look for the 'good things' in life." But I found that this, too, was meaningless.
2 So I said, "Laughter is silly. What good does it do to seek pleasure?"
3 After much thought, I decided to cheer myself with wine. And while still seeking wisdom, I clutched at foolishness. In this way, I tried to experience the only happiness most people find during their brief life in this world.
There is a place for laughter, and there is a place for sorrow. Blessed are they who mourn...happy are the sad. Who see themselves as they really are and take action. You see, your true sorrow will lead to joy...but without that sorrow there will be no joy!
Why? It's because unless we see ourselves correctly in our depraved condition there can be no real happiness. It's called repentance in biblical terms. Unforyunately, sometimes we are only sorry for the repercussions of what we have done rather than the evil act itself. The bible tells us that godly sorrow will produce repentance. Meaning you are sorry enough to stop what you were doing. Blessed are the unhappy, for they shall be happy. This happiness comes from the joys of knowing Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Him being your all.
Romans 4:7-8 (NLT)
7 "Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight.
8 Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of sin."
Beatitude number #3
Matthew 5:5 (HCSB)
5 Blessed are the meek, because they will inherit the earth.
What is meekness? ...well it isn't weakness. A weak person can't do anything and a "meek person" can, but chooses not to.
Picture a weak guy on the beach and some bully comes up and kicks sand in his face and he does nothing in retaliation...this is not because he's meek...it's because he's weak. But take the meek person who perhaps is trained in martial arts and he chooses not to pulverize the same bully when he kicks sand in his face.
· In other words, I will restrain myself. It's a power under constraint for the purpose of the other person rather than self.
Jesus says: Happy are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. But we don't celebrate meekness in our culture do we? We only celebrate in having our rights met. We celebrate getting things from other people and sometimes even taking advantage of them to get what we want. How different this is then what the bible teaches. The biblical worldview says:
· The last shall be first...
· Giving is receiving...
· Dying is living...
· Losing is finding...
· Least is greatest...
· Meekness is strength
An illustration of meekness we could draw on is from the story of Joseph who had the ability to kill all of his brothers for selling him into slavery. That was power under constraint though he had the authority and right to justify the wrong done to him. (When's the last time you saw a movie where the main character was a meek person? We wouldn't go pay to see a movie where the guy was stripped of everything and he didn't do anything back to avenge himself.)
The bible celebrates meekness and the world does not understand that at all. Jesus was God walking among us who was treated badly to say the least, yet He responded without retaliation to His persecutors. Why? It is because He did not have to prove who He was...nothing can change who you are when you know it.
Beatitude Number #4
Matthew 5:6 (KJV)
6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Let's look at what we have learned so far?
- I've seen myself as I really am (poor in spirit; spiritually bankrupt).
- I've mourned over my spiritual condition (I am undone without God and I fully realize it).
- I've repented and the results are that I'm now walking in meekness (strength constrained that seeks not my own well-being).
- And now, I am to have a new hunger for righteousness.
The question is will we make room for the Word of God to feed that hunger? When we eat natural food it satisfies the hunger that our bodies crave in order to be healthy and active. Yet, that one meal alone will not last forever...you will need to eat again once your body spends the nourishment received from that meal. The same can be said for our spiritual hunger...hungering for the things of God must be repeated to nourish our spirit man over and over again.
A happy person is a person who hungers and thirsts for the things of God continually. You do want to be happy, right? Then let's put this all together in the closing of these four beatitudes:
- You must be poor in spirit - see yourself as you really are, seeing yourself bankrupt of all righteousness in and of yourself. You see this world for what it is...that there is nothing that can ever satisfy you, but God. The answer is not found within the things of this world as someone might suggest, but in God only!
- You will mourn and long for the things that are most important in life. This will create a right perspective in life that takes nothing for granted.
- You will be meek, not weak. A restrained power that prefers benefiting another.
- And you will hunger and thirst for God's righteousness. It is to be your greatest desire and necessity for life. And you will hunger daily for it.
