God’s happiness for Himself and us got lost in translation, what I’m doing about it
This is about how I’m stepping up my happiness game thanks to a better understanding about what God teaches us about happiness through His Bible.
This statement is completely untrue, yet it is on our family bookshelf:
“Joy should not be confused with happiness. In fact, it is an insult to Jesus Christ to use the word happiness in connection with Him.” Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, August 31.
First, a very brief summary of how I’ve come to this conclusion. We are missing out on Godly happiness because of inaccurate teaching, as brief as possible because this essay is supposed to be about my action points, not a book summary.
Instinctively I’ve had a vague, sort-of-but-not-sure-how-to-explain-it feeling that following Jesus and being happy about it are inseparable. Clarity came recently with the help of the Men’s Bible Study I attend on Tuesdays, Heart of a Man https://www.heartofaman.org/ . We are studying the Gospel of Matthew in depth, and upon arriving at what’s commonly called the Beatitudes (Matthew 5), our leader Bill Moore confidently and correctly titled his lecture “God Wants Us to Feel Happiness.”
Since then, the vagueness has gone away and I’m working on action points.
During the lecture, Bill referenced the book Happiness by Randy Alcorn . I’m fully convinced that happiness and joy are synonyms as evidenced by the original Hebrew and Greek. Alcorn’s book is huge because there is a lot of evidence that blessed means happy in the ordinary sense of the way we mean happy (If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands / stamp your feet / say Amen)! It is heavy on language, theology, history, and concludes with some application. Building upon that, Enjoying God in Everything by Steve DeWitt is a shorter book that gets right to the point of wondering in and partaking of God’s beauty.
What I intend to do about this, for all to see:
Choose to experience happiness because my biggest problem ever has been solved.
“What must we be doing, to do the works of God? Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in whom he has sent.” – John 6:28-29
February 1990, I was 24 and remember feeling happy when I first started talking with my new church singles group friends about truly believing for the first time that God really existed. No longer thinking God was like modern day Greek mythology, I’m reminded of Hebrews 11:6, “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”
First believing that God actually exists was only the first step. 35 years later and counting, with the help of Scripture and my local church College Park Church, I recall and respond to these (literally) gospel truths:
God is Holy
I am not
Jesus saves
Christ is my life
One advantage of being a Gen X looking forward to birthday number 60 is the benefit of age and experience. 1800s preacher Charles H. Spurgeon said in a sermon, “While we are young, perhaps we are foolish enough to look elsewhere for happiness, but when we grow old and our cares and sorrows increase, happy, indeed, are we if we have the happiness that comes from pardoned sin!” (Sermon #3227)
Happiness is thinking about and typing that I’m forgiven and reconciled to God through who Jesus is and what he has done.
Choose to experience happiness because my problems today are temporary and figure-outable
“…those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit”. Romans 8:5
We all know something is wrong with the world. Call it sin, call it a fallen world, we have problems. I create some of my own problems, other problems come upon me either by others or by way of natural consequences of a fallen world. Same for you, same for everybody. Sadness is part of the human condition.
Henry Wadworth Longfellow wrote over 100 years ago, “Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not; and oftentimes we call a man cold when he is only sad.” It can be hard to understand the idea of sadness and happiness at the same time. Longfellow also writes in I Heard the Bells,
“The wrong shall fail, the right prevail, with peace on earth on earth, good-will to men!”
If Longfellow can write this during the Civil War, with his son wounded and his wife deceased, we can trust God’s long-term plan.
Some who object to the God = happiness paradigm may say, “what about the evil?” I believe an appropriate response would be, “what about God working things out for our good?”
For each of us that love and trust the Lord, we all have a unique combination of good, bad, and ugly that God works for our good. Choosing God’s mercy and goodness where it can be found is a choice worth choosing.
Choose to experience happiness by repenting of my sin about my local church’s music ministry
This is a work in process. I’m repenting of grumbling against what many call “worship,” by that we generally mean “church music.” (so, the rest of the church service isn’t worship? C’mon people…)
OK, I’m grumbling again. In my opinion, the music in the church I’ve been a member of for 30 years leaves rich theological content unsung because of our contemporary leaning with hymns as a supplement. The presentation in general, including loud volume, is distracting. Others have objected, to which the pastors respond that the volume is within acceptable limits. I think of taking 1 Corinthians 10 out of context: Not everything that is permissible is beneficial.
Here I go again, I did say this is repentance in process, did I not? My point is that I’m working very hard on considering our church’s music ministry as a benefit to enjoy, not an obstacle to overcome. Our pastor leading our church’s worship arts has been with us 27 years, perhaps I would do well to give him some credit.
Choosing to experience happiness by returning to reading through the Bible in a year
I’ve begun listening to a daily chronological Bible during my work commute. How I’ve done it in the past is read through the Bible in a year to stay acquainted with the whole. That helps me when I am in a deeper study, such as a church sermon series, Sunday morning adult Bible fellowship, and Tuesday Men’s Bible Study. Understanding the historical context helps me when I observe, interpret, and apply a specific passage. For example, our church sermon series is currently on the “minor prophets.” Knowing where we are in redemption history and also knowing the Old Testament prophesies helps me understand what can be learned about God’s righteousness through that period of history.
Choosing to experience happiness because my problems in the future will be no such thing
Greg Kokul of Stand to Reason: “God is able to work all things, even human choices, into a matrix where His perfect plan is accomplished.”
God is making all things new, and we wait with happiness because God is happy as His plan is working out (read Alcorn if that statement seems nonsense)
Experience Lament when happiness is too hard
I’m not foolish enough to think happiness is a 24/7/365 proposition. Bad things happen in the world, my country, neighborhood, home, and in my heart. Dark Clouds Deep Mercy by Mark Vroegop, my former pastor and now President of Gospel Coalition, explains how prayers of lament helps us live a hard life and trust God’s goodness. If you struggle with this, I recommend this sermon-series turned book. For me, I have enough regret, grief, and lament that would be overwhelming if I did not trust the mercy and plan of God.
Case Study: Good News worth sharing with enthusiasm.
Whether it is a Generation X thing or just my own family of origin dynamic, growing up was (and is) easier avoiding controversy. Evangelism is not my gift; I work very hard at it.
Following Jesus is one of my core values, and I consider myself fortunate (dare I say “blessed?”) to write about Him in this space.
Writing may also help me be more confident in conversations.
One thing our local church does very well is expository preaching, teaching the Bible (not topical pep talks). As the Bible as a whole either directly or indirectly points to Jesus, each Sunday’s sermon includes a clear summary of the Gospel, and we clap enthusiastically because we are happy, not because we want to.
I lament my struggles in talking comfortably and naturally about the good news of Jesus. Perhaps I can do better if I remember a quote I heard a long time ago from Hank Hannegraff, the “Bible Answer Man.” – those who disagree with us are not the enemy, they are the opportunity.
Conclusion – Choosing to be thankful for lifelong learning.
All of us are on a journey of learning more and living more according to God’s will for us. Thankful for the Hebrew and Greek languages; and the work done by Puritans, Spurgeon, Alcorn, DeWitt, and others so that we can pursue happiness the way God intended. What can you do today to be more happy in Jesus?