Three years ago, I wrote a review of a book published right around the turn of the twenty-first century—How We Choose to be Happy. I do not ordinarily read self-help books, but at the time I was struggling with the concept of “counting it all joy” in the midst of hardship, suffering, loneliness, and loss.
The Pursuit of Happiness
Our constitution guarantees the right of every American to the pursuit of happiness, and you and I see the interpretation of that pursuit all around us.
But, a lot of people are still not happy, no matter how hard they try.
So, what is going on?
And what about people with dual citizenship, in both the United States and in the Kingdom of Heaven. Is “happiness” still a good pursuit? Are Christians even supposed to be happy? Does God intend for us to be happy?
And, since we are on the subject, how about God? Do we think of God as happy?
Most Christians I know would respond, “Well, what does the Bible have to say about it? Can we find anything about being happy in the Bible?”
And the answer is yes.
Every time you and I read the word bless or blessing, or blessed, we are reading about happiness. In fact, according to Webster’s Dictionary, to bless means to “bring happiness, pleasure, or contentment.” As it turns out, our word bliss is actually a derivative of bless. So, every time you and I read bless in the Bible, we can insert the word happy, or pleased or content … or blissful.
The Beatitudes
Thinking about the word “bless” brought the Beatitudes immediately to mind, so I turned to the original Greek text and sure enough, each line of Jesus’s Beatitudes in Matthew 5 begins with the Greek word makarios | μακάριος, which means, literally, “supremely fortunate, divinely happy, blissful”
Sort of transforms reading the Beatitudes, does it not?
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he began to speak and taught them, saying:
“Supremely fortunate, divinely happy, and blissful are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Supremely fortunate, divinely happy, and blissful are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
“Supremely fortunate, divinely happy, and blissful are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
“Supremely fortunate, divinely happy, and blissful are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
“Supremely fortunate, divinely happy, and blissful are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
“Supremely fortunate, divinely happy, and blissful are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
“Supremely fortunate, divinely happy, and blissful are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
“Supremely fortunate, divinely happy, and blissful are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Supremely fortunate, divinely happy, and blissful are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Matthew 5:1–11 NRSVUE (“Blessed” replaced with “Supremely fortunate, divinely happy, and blissful”)
The fruit of the Spirit begins with love, joy, and peace, and the apostles wrote often about being thankful and joyful in everything. In fact, a quick word search through the Christian Testament comes up with over fifty occasions when the subject of joy is mentioned. When I looked for variations of the word “bless,” well over a hundred passages appeared. Clearly, being joyful and experiencing blessing is, according to the scriptures, the normative Christian lifestyle.
Peer-Reviewed Research
The first chapter of How We Choose to be Happy goes into detail about the research the authors Rick Foster and Greg Hicks entered into as they studied the phenomenon of happiness. Typically, they would observe a workplace, or other type of regular gathering of people, then ask each person who they thought was the happiest person among them. Usually, one or two names would regularly come up. Once identified, those would be the people the authors interviewed. What made them so happy? Were their lives enchanting? Were they especially protected against tragedy, trials, and trauma?
As the authors gathered their data, nine categories began to take shape which would become the foundation for their findings. The book I have in front of me—published in 2004—has endorsements from such reputable institutions as the Mayo Clinic, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and the American Heart Association. These are trustworthy institutions.
Biblical Wisdom
As I wrestled with the conflict between what the Bible seemed to be teaching me about joy and my own lived experience, this book—quite by chance, or so it seemed—came into view. It was not written from a Christian perspective but rather reflects the research of its co-authors, and that initially gave me pause. But the nine conscious choices a person can make in order to live from a “cup half full” worldview had the ring of truth to them.
The book begins with a questionnaire designed to help the reader discern whether they are already making those choices. As I went through the list, I realized there was real spiritual wisdom here. For each choice, I recognized scriptural insights that could help a follower of Christ better understand what it means to bear the fruit of the Spirit.
When I finished the questionnaire and took stock, all those years ago, I realized how profoundly not happy I was. Part of that might be due to personality, and life experiences. But certainly also, I was not making those nine choices all that often in my life. Learning how to think differently, how to live differently, has become my life’s work.
The book is worth reading, so I give a link below. I will also be doing a series on each of the choices outlined by the authors, and what those choices might look like in a believer’s life.
- Be intentional about choosing to be happy
- Take ownership of one’s actions, thoughts and feelings
- Know what makes one happy, and what does not
- Live life now in doing what brings joy
- Recast problems into opportunities, and trauma into something meaningful
- Be open to possibility and be resilient in the moment
- Appreciate people and events, be thankful
- Be generous-hearted with one’s life, love, and resources
- Keep integrity, and be truthful
The more I have thought about these choices, the more I saw the apostles and prophets teaching them in the scriptures, the more I see the glorious inner life that is to be every person’s inheritance in the Lord.
Thank for continuing to share what God continues to teach through His Word
Thank you, Peg, I sure appreciate the encouragement. I was remembering some of the things in both of those books, then started doing a prayer series at our church from Destefano’s book. One Sunday morning, I started talking with someone about her workplace, and how unhappy she was there. That prompted a memory of this book I’m starting to write about now. These are truths I’m thankful God is reminding me about, amongst all the contention and unhappiness swirling around in our culture.
Grace and peace, Joanne