If happiness is what we seek...

I saw a shirt at the mall today that had the definition of happiness on it. It said,

"Happiness is... Smelling fresh coffee in the morning, afternoon naps on rainy days, having random dance offs with your besties, veggin' out while watching your favorite 80's flick over and over again, eating peanut butter out of the jar, singing really loud, laughing til you cry, sharing it all with someone special in your life, and holding onto those moments forever. Love is eternal happiness :)"

Yeah, that was all on one shirt. Haha!

So the reason I'm telling you about this shirt is that it made me realize how inconsistent the definition of happiness is. Happiness cannot be truly defined. I'm not hating on the shirt... Most of the things listed on it make me really happy, or at least the idea of them does. And I'm not trying to be a disagreeable person. This is just, I think, a good illustration of the arbitrariness of that which we call "happiness". 

The definition given on the shirt is inconsistent with my personal definition of happiness. I bet it's not how you would define it either. Each of our definitions are very different and often change from day to day. Some of us may describe happiness by giving examples of the things that make us happy, like on the shirt. Some of us may define it as a state of mind. One day I may describe happiness as laying out on the beach for hours. The next day, I may say that happiness is checking a lot of things off my to-do list. The things we desire to make us happy change depending on how we feel. See how subjective it is?

If we look outside of American culture, the definition on the shirt is absurd. In some cultures, there are many who would be happy to be employed; where, "veggin' out" on a "day off" doesn't even cross their minds. Many would be happy just to be out of the rain on a rainy day. I'm not saying we should feel guilty for enjoying the things we do in America. I'm just pointing out how even economic and cultural factors effect the accepted definition of happiness. For instance, British people might prefer the smell of tea in the afternoon over the smell of coffee in the morning... ;)

The point I'm trying to make is that when we seek happiness, we seek something that is ever-changing, something that is not one specific thing. When we make happiness our chief end in life we send ourselves on a wild goose chase in which the goose is constantly shape shifting into something else....... (Lol... *scratches head* My metaphors are weird. This is why I'm not good at Yo Mama jokes... ;P). I'm sure you're thinking I sound like such a pessimist right now. I know I said I wasn't trying to be disagreeable, and now I'm disagreeing with like half of the world by saying the pursuit of happiness is not the meaning of life, but I want to send you on a chase for something better than happiness. 

It's JOY! 

Joy is what we need. And guess what! I lied, we don't even have to chase it! It's just given to us when we ask Jesus into our hearts. His Holy Spirit fills us with all the good things we need, and one of those things is joy! Let me explain the joy that comes from the Holy Spirit to you by comparing it to happiness:

Happiness says, "I'm going to do something to feel happy."

Joy says, "No matter what I'm doing, I'm happy."

Happiness says, "I'm going to get something to feel happy."

Joy says, "No matter what I have, I'm happy."

Happiness says, "I'm going to find someone who makes me happy."

Joy says, "Even if I have no one but Jesus, I'm happy." 

Happiness says, "If I focus on me, I'll feel happy."

Joy says, "I'm already happy; I can look outside of myself."

Happiness says, "If I pursue happiness, I'll feel happy."

Joy says, "I've been pursued by Jesus, and He made my heart happy."

While happiness seems to always be just out of our reach, even when we find the thing we thought would make us happy, joy is itself the peace, contentment, and delight we've been searching for--no THING needed. And it's given to us as a free gift by Jesus. Ask Jesus to fill your heart today and his Holy Spirit will give you joy. 

Love, Kristian