The Pursuit of Happiness
Psalm 1:1-6
[Please contact me at kerry.n.haynes@gmail.com for sermon outline in Word.]
A while back there was a movie called, “The Pursuit of Happyness,” and it was a good movie. Yet, the title is also an accurate description of our society today. America is on a pursuit for happiness. Just look at our entertainment industry, our pharmaceutical industry, alcohol sales, and the illegal drug market. All in an effort to be just a little...bit...happier.
God promises in Psalm 37:4 to give us the desires of our heart, as we follow him and allow him to make our heart like his. Today’s psalm focuses on how to have a joyful or happy life, how to feel blessed despite your circumstances. I’ve put three ideas on your handout; you may find more. Let’s start with the first one, which is to...
1. Choose your friends carefully.
Our friends shape us more than we care to admit. My nephew is a white-collar crime parole officer in Alaska, and he reports this as the one area that leads most people astray: the friends they choose. Steve Maraboli says, “If you hang out with chickens, you're going to cluck and if you hang out with eagles, you're going to fly.” This Presidents’ Day weekend, consider the words of George Washington, who said, “Associate with those of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for it is better to be alone than in bad company.”
Look at what verse 1 has to say about the subject: “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers.” There is a progression here, from walking in step with (sounds like marching in formation, right?), to standing in the way, to sitting in their company. The world woos us in one step at a time. John MacArthur calls this “sin’s sequential downward drag” (NKJV MacArthur Study Bible). I am reminded of when Lot gazed from afar the city of Sodom, went down to visit it, and then moved in. It turned out to be a really bad idea, especially for his wife, who couldn’t give it up. Or consider Eve who looked at the forbidden fruit, saw that it was pleasing to the eye, then took it in her hand and ate it. There’s a gradual slide toward evil. How do you get a frog to stay in boiling water? You put him in cold water and slowly heat it up, until it’s too late for the frog.
In his high priestly prayer in John 17, Jesus prays for us, and he says we are not of this world, even though we are on mission in this world (John 17:14-19). If we’re not of this world, we should hold different values than people who do not know God. We should use different speech. We should spend our money and our time differently. We should be careful who we talk to, who we hang around with. Yes, we want to have friends who are not yet believers, because otherwise they will never hear or see the gospel. Yet, your core friends, your closest friends should be people committed to their faith as you are.
Want to be happy? Choose your friends carefully. And #2,
2. Invest time in God’s word.
Verse 1 told us what NOT to do: don’t hang out with the wrong crowd. Now verse 2 tells us what we OUGHT to be doing, and that is investing time in God’s word. Listen to the verse: Blessed is the one “whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.”
The word for “law” here in the Hebrew is “Torah,” what the Jews called the first five books of the Bible. The Torah was considered the most holy of all of God’s writings. In a general sense, though, the term came to refer to ALL of God’s teachings and instruction.
Note the psalmist says it’s not enough to read God’s word. You need to “delight” in it, and you need to “meditate” on it. Let’s consider those terms. First, we need to delight in God’s word. I know there are some difficult passages in the Bible. If you find one, don’t get bogged down, just move forward. Some parts are more readable than others. Mark Twain once said, “Some people are troubled by the things in the Bible they can’t understand. The things that trouble me are the things I can understand.” So there’s enough you can find to understand.
And as you read God’s word, don’t approach it like any other book. God wants to speak to you through his word, so expect to hear him. In Bible study last month, we talked about using the acronym P.T.S.D., for “Pray, Think, Stop, and Decode.” First pray, asking him to speak to you through his word. Next think about what you’re reading: what did it mean back then and what is the timeless truth for today? Stop when you get to something that grabs you, and decode what God is telling you through the Holy Spirit [source: “God Understands When We Have Doubts,” American Bible Society].
What about meditation? Buddhists don’t have the corner on it, you know. Scripture recommends it for Christian believers. The big difference between Jewish/Christian meditation and other forms is that you don’t empty your mind. Instead, you fill it intentionally with a thought or a scripture that you want to focus on like a laser beam. Read a single verse over and over. Choose one that carries great meaning for you or addresses a temptation you’re facing. The word for meditation in Hebrew suggests a cow chewing its cud. You chew on the verse over and over. As you read it, contemplate it, think about it, digest it, consider it, question it, and finally rest in it, God’s word will change you.
And notice Deuteronomy 6:7 on your outline. As you study the scriptures, it says to, “Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” Take that progression toward evil found in verse 1—walking, standing, sitting—and apply the same pattern of progression for good, as you discuss God’s word when you walk around, when you stand with close friends, when you sit down for meals. Let scripture be a part of your daily life.
If you do this, you will be blessed; you will be happy. Choose your friends carefully, invest time in God’s word, and lastly,
3. Root yourself in God’s will and God’s ways (v. 3)
Listen to verse 3: “That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.” What a beautiful picture, especially when you consider the arid Middle East where the psalm writer lives. It would be like discovering a beautiful tree beside a stream in August in hot dry West Texas! It’s an amazing find! And this tree is so green and so full of life, the very picture of prosperity! As D. L. Moody put it, “All the Lord’s trees are evergreen.”
Consider the evergreen. I know we have them here, but how about the towering giants throughout Washington state, Canada, and Alaska? Their rich green hue suggests life and vitality, whether in the middle of summer or snow-covered winter. The changing seasons have no effect on them. And so it is with Christians who are careful about the company they keep, who spend time enjoying and meditating on God’s word. They are grounded. They prosper in the ways that matter to God. They are strong regardless of the changing seasons of life.
“That person is like a tree planted...” I learned something new this week about this verse. That word “planted” in the Hebrew is literally “transplanted.” I’ve got some baby trees in our garden that need to be transplanted this spring around our property. Trees don’t transplant themselves. They require a larger force outside of themselves to do it. So, lest we get full of pride from being among the righteous instead of the wicked, we must acknowledge that our only hope to be righteous is to be transplanted to that fertile creek side, to receive assistance with getting our roots down deep. This is not something we do on our own.
Only one human being has lived out this psalm perfectly: our Savior Jesus Christ. And even he, while on this earth, leaned constantly on his Heavenly Father to do so. Jesus not only died for us, making our salvation complete. He also gave us the ultimate example of Spirit-filled living. So let’s ask for his help as we choose carefully our closest friends, as we invest time in God’s word, and as we allow the Holy Spirit to nurture the soil of our soul, all for the glory of God. Let’s pray about it:
Thank you, Heavenly Father, for this short psalm that introduces us to the wisdom of walking with you. We find that our spiritual growth must come from you, although our day to day decisions will greatly impact it. Give us insight into the friends we choose. Give us love for your word that draws us to it every day. And plant us by those fertile banks where we might grow into the men and women of God you have in store for us. We ask this in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, amen.
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For welcome time:
Happiness quotes
• Money can’t buy happiness, but it does keep the kids in touch.
• I didn't find out what happiness means until I got married... and then it was too late.
• Money cannot buy happiness, but it’s more comfortable to cry in a Mercedes than on a bicycle.
• If people are talking behind your back, be happy that you are the one in front.
• Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go.
