Isolate Your Isolation Series

Isolate Your Isolation

Habits of Happiness Part 1

Matthew 22:36-39

We all want to be happy.

I bet there is no single person who intentionally chooses to be unhappy.

However, so many people in this world are not happy for one reason or another.

In order to be happy, this is what we have to realize.

Happiness is our choice.

Happiness is something that we choose.

In order to be happy, we must do things that will bring happiness.

However, there are many who are not happy.

It is partly because of the way they think, the way they talk, and the way they act does not make them happy.

When people think negatively, talk critically, and act unbiblically, these are not something that they acquired overnight.

They are habits that they have built.

Therefore, in order to be happy, we must change the way we think, talk, and act.

We must build habits of thinking, talking, and acting biblically.

And we can form these habits by repeatedly doing them.

Therefore, during this series, we will talk about habits that we must build to experience happiness in our lives.

And today we will talk about the importance of being connected to others around us.

Many people are living in emotional pain.

Many people struggle with depression, anxiety, panic, addiction, and guilt.

Why?

Some people might say, “They lack faith.”

If they just read the Bible more, pray more, and have more faith, then their struggles will disappear.

Yes, it is true that reading Bible more, praying more, and having faith more will help.

However, sometimes the issue is more complicate than that.

And in order to understand our struggles, we need to understand certain basic issues.

The Bible says that we are created in the image of God (Gn. 1:27).

In other words, we are created to be “like” God.

And the more we become like Him, the less we will struggle with emotional problems.

Therefore, the question is to figure out how to become more Godlike.

One of the aspects of God that we must emulate is this.

Our God is a relational being.

He exists in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit.

And there is a prefect relationship between these three persons of the Trinity.

Because we are living in a fallen world, we have difficulties developing and maintaining relationships.

Without the ability to develop and maintain relationships, we can remain isolated.

Today, we will examine three bonds that we must develop and maintain to be happy.

So, what is bonding?

Bonding is the ability to establish an emotional attachment to another person.

It is the ability to relate to another on the deepest level.

When two persons have a bond with each other, they share their deepest thoughts, dreams, and feelings with each other.

And in order to be happy, we must develop and establish emotional connections in these three areas.

I. We must be connected with God (vv. 36-38).

Bonding is one of the most basic and foundational human need.

And first relationship that we must build is our relationship with God.

Verses 36-38 say this.

36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment.

God created us with a hunger for a relationship with Him.

God did not create us to live apart from Him.

In other words, we cannot be truly happy without being connected to God.

No matter what characteristics we possess, or what accomplishments we have, without a solid connection with God, we will suffer a sickness of our soul.

Think about how plants grow.

They must be connected to something outside of themselves.

The main stem is connected to the roots, which in turn are buried in the soil where they draw water and nutrients up into the stem.

Perhaps the most well-known passage using this plant imagery is John 15.

Jesus said this in John 15:5-6.

5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.

Jesus told us very clearly.

Without a connection to with God, we will slowly wither and die just as a branch that is cut off from its vine.

We will die physically, emotionally, relationally and spiritually.

God is a relational being, and He created us as relational beings.

And the first relationship that we must have is our relationship with God.