THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS
Ps 16: 7 I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons. 8 I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. 9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. 10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. 11 Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
Hosea 8: 1 Set the trumpet to thy mouth. He shall come as an eagle against the house of the LORD, because they have transgressed my covenant, and trespassed against my law. 2 Israel shall cry unto me, My God, we know thee. 3 Israel hath cast off the thing that is good: the enemy shall pursue him. 4 They have set up kings, but not by me: they have made princes, and I knew it not: of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they may be cut off. 5 Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off; mine anger is kindled against them: how long will it be ere they attain to innocency? 6 For from Israel was it also: the workman made it; therefore it is not God: but the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces. 7 For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk; the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up. 8 Israel is swallowed up: now shall they be among the Gentiles as a vessel wherein is no pleasure.
The Lord had given me this topic when I ran into a beautiful movie on cable acted by Will Smith with the same title, just that the happiness was misspelled on purpose. It was a beautiful story of what a man had to go through in order to achieve happiness for himself and his family. However, for this message, what is relevant for us was the similarity of the name of the movie. The phrase is actually very popular in American as it comprises part of the American dream. Along with life and liberty, it is the most famous phrase in the American declaration of Independence and they all constitute what is referred as the inalienable right of man. This means that one of the reasons why the Americans fought for independence was the pursuit of happiness. Poems , books and songs have been written all over the world in celebration of the pursuit of happiness.
However, there is a recent study that I came across that proved very interesting when you look at the Christian perspective of happiness and why you must make a distinction between your pursuits in life. One Daniel Gilbert, a Harvard Professor of psychology and an expert in the study of happiness has made a recent finding along with three other top Professors in the U.S. These professors take the lead in the study of a specific type of emotional and behavioural prediction which questions the decision making process that shape our sense of well being. They ask, how do you predict what will make us happy or unhappy? How do we predict that we will feel when we buy a new car, or make N10 million, or when Chelsea wins the Champions’ League?
Studies have shown that almost every action is based on our predictions of the emotional consequences of these actions or events. What Professor Gilbert and his colleagues are saying now is that affective forecasting is overestimated and the intensity of our emotional reaction merely lasts the duration of the prediction. They are of the view that once the event occurs it no longer produces the level of emotions that we had predicted. This is true of both negative and positive events and this implies that the pursuit of happiness is most time futile.
I have come to find out that the reality of life is that usually each time you are desperate for something you often overrate the satisfaction that you will derive when you get that thing, and as soon as you possess it you soon realise that what you experience is an anticlimax. If you are not clear about your focus in life you find that life becomes a cycle of pursuit of things that has a disappointing effect at the end of the day. That is why a man who breaks one marriage almost always ends up never settling with one person all his life.
There is so much pursuit for happiness around us and yet all we see is pervading unhappiness. What we think will give us great pleasure almost always end up complicating our lives. Why is life so tricky for some people? Why does marriage breed so much happiness? Why do jobs that we so earnestly pray for ultimately cause us so much unhappiness? Why does a child ultimately destroy a toy that he was so desperate for only a few days ago?
The truth is that most people live their lives in search of the wrong thing which they assume will bring happiness for them. If you ask them they will tell you that they just want to be happy. The truth is that we are all entitled to be happy, except that we need to find out the secret of true happiness. As long as your pursuit is after things that will merely bring pleasure to you, you will ultimately be disappointed. However, we are so taken over by this pursuit that we are willing to do anything to achieve it. The text in Hosea 8 says that Israel has cast of the things that are good and have gone in pursuit of idols. It says that they have sown to the wind and they shall reap the whirlwind. The reason is that people have tried to justify almost everything in the pursuit of happiness.
In the past I have taught that if you want to know what your purpose is, one indication is that it must be something that brings you pleasure. Now I know that we read such suggestions in motivational books and they have nothing to do with bible. It is possible that Jonah in the bible also read such books and that was why when God sent him to Nineveh, he rather set out for Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord. One thing is obvious and that is the suggestion that compels us to act based on what gives us happiness is very appealing. This comes from a misunderstanding of what true blessing really is. We are in a materialistic world that now interprets anointing based on what the person possesses. It is an epicurean mindset which has crept into the church and it is known in evangelical circles as Christian Hedonism. We have now taken the concept of prosperity to a ridiculous position that is completely opposite to the word of God. People come to church for what they can get from God and to be entertained and we do not want to be told anything that confronts our ideology. The truth is that we men of God are being caught up in this trap of materialism because we want to prove that we are anointed. The Presiding Bishop will say that he has no point to prove to anyone in ministry and I want to fully line up with him. I do not need to be appreciated by anybody except the God who called me. I know the kind of messages to preach that will excite everyone and make you happy yet your salvation will be in jeopardy. For a season it will bring the offerings and the gifts, but God will judge me. I will rather make you unhappy by my message and secure your salvation.
The reason why the pursuit of happiness is futile is found the real value of what we call happiness. Happiness comes from the root word hap which means an event or a happening. What this presupposes is that happiness is based on the occurrence of an event. We know that the impact of an event will change based on varying circumstances and this means that happiness is based on the occasion of an event which has no guarantee of producing a positive emotion. It is trying to lay hold on the wind. So a man who lives his life in the pursuit of happiness is actually in pursuit of nothing.
There is now extensive research suggesting that religious people are happier and less stressed.[9][10] Surveys by Gallup, the National Opinion Research Centre and the Pew Organization conclude that spiritually committed people are twice as likely to report being "very happy" than the least religiously committed people.[11] An analysis of over 200 social studies contends that "high religiousness predicts a rather lower risk of depression and drug abuse and fewer suicide attempts, and more reports of satisfaction with sex life and a sense of well-being"[12] and a review of 498 studies published in peer-reviewed journals concluded that a large majority of them showed a positive correlation between religious commitment and higher levels of perceived well-being and self-esteem, and lower levels of hypertension, depression and clinical delinquency.[13][14] Studies by Keith Ward show that overall religion is a positive contributor to mental health[15] and a meta-analysis of 34 recent studies published between 1990 and 2001 also found that religiosity has a salutary relationship with psychological adjustment, being related to less psychological distress, more life satisfaction, and better self-actualization.[16] Finally, a recent systematic review of 850 research papers on the topic concluded that "the majority of well-conducted studies found that higher levels of religious involvement are positively associated with indicators of psychological well-being (life satisfaction, happiness, positive affect, and higher morale) and with less depression, suicidal thoughts and behavior, drug/alcohol use/abuse." [17]
It is because of this that I believe that a recent study shows that Nigerians are the most happiest people in the world and this is in spite of the terrible conditions in the land. As long as you continue to believe that material things will bring happiness to you, you will keep on experiencing a void in your life. Only God can fill that void in your life.
Eccl 2: 1 I said to myself, "Come now, let's give pleasure a try. Let's look for the 'good things' in life." But I found that this, too, was meaningless. 2 "It is silly to be laughing all the time," I said. "What good does it do to seek only pleasure?" 3 After much thought, I decided to cheer myself with wine. While still seeking wisdom, I clutched at foolishness. In this way, I hoped to experience the only happiness most people find during their brief life in this world. 4 I also tried to find meaning by building huge homes for myself and by planting beautiful vineyards. 5 I made gardens and parks, filling them with all kinds of fruit trees. 6 I built reservoirs to collect the water to irrigate my many flourishing groves. 7 I bought slaves, both men and women, and others were born into my household. I also owned great herds and flocks, more than any of the kings who lived in Jerusalem before me. 8 I collected great sums of silver and gold, the treasure of many kings and provinces. I hired wonderful singers, both men and women, and had many beautiful concubines. I had everything a man could desire! 9 So I became greater than any of the kings who ruled in Jerusalem before me. And with it all, I remained clear-eyed so that I could evaluate all these things. 10 Anything I wanted, I took. I did not restrain myself from any joy. I even found great pleasure in hard work, an additional reward for all my labors. 11 But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless. It was like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere. 12 So I decided to compare wisdom and folly, and anyone else would come to the same conclusions I did. 13 Wisdom is of more value than foolishness, just as light is better than darkness. 14 For the wise person sees, while the fool is blind. Yet I saw that wise and foolish people share the same fate. 15 Both of them die. Just as the fool will die, so will I. So of what value is all my wisdom? Then I said to myself, "This is all so meaningless!" 16 For the wise person and the fool both die, and in the days to come, both will be forgotten. 17 So now I hate life because everything done here under the sun is so irrational. Everything is meaningless, like chasing the wind. 18 I am disgusted that I must leave the fruits of my hard work to others. 19 And who can tell whether my successors will be wise or foolish? And yet they will control everything I have gained by my skill and hard work. How meaningless! 20 So I turned in despair from hard work. It was not the answer to my search for satisfaction in this life. 21 For though I do my work with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, I must leave everything I gain to people who haven't worked to earn it. This is not only foolish but highly unfair. 22 So what do people get for all their hard work? 23 Their days of labor are filled with pain and grief; even at night they cannot rest. It is all utterly meaningless. 24 So I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work. Then I realized that this pleasure is from the hand of God. 25 For who can eat or enjoy anything apart from him? 26 God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy to those who please him. But if a sinner becomes wealthy, God takes the wealth away and gives it to those who please him. Even this, however, is meaningless, like chasing the wind.
Eccl 5: 13 There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt. 14 But those riches perish by evil travail: and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand. 15 As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand. 16 And this also is a sore evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind? 17 All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he hath much sorrow and wrath with his sickness. 18 Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion. 19 Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God. 20 For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God answereth him in the joy of his heart.
It is for this reason that the first text says that from God we shall receive the path of life because we can only get fullness of joy from being in His presence and being in His perfect will. Once you are clear about that your pursuit in life will change.
In conclusion I want to share my thought on the pursuit of happiness. The truth is that happiness is in reality a pursuit because it is dependent on events and things. So, when events turn out well, you are happy and if they do not, you are unhappy. Since your pursuit is after things and events that will make you happy, your entire life will be a pursuit of events that will turn out well. But we know that things will not always turn out well. In fact some things will never turn out well and some people will never treat you well. Things are bound to go wrong in your life whether you pray about it or not. However, as a Christian I have come to find out that even when things refuse to get better, all things ultimately work together for good for those who love the Lord and those who are the called. So my focus and pursuit should not be at the events and the happenings but in locating the will of God for my life. I know that as long as I can find God in any circumstance, then I will have real joy. It does not really matter if the situation makes me happy, as long as I am in the will of God, then I have joy. That is what gives me peace and enables me to rejoice even when things go wrong. So, I can say like the writer of Habbakuk, although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vine; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the field shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: yet I will rejoice in the Lord and I will joy in the God of my salvation.
