I’m Sure God Wants Me Happy
Years ago Sam, (not his real name), sat in my office. He told me all about his unhappy marriage and his uncaring and unresponsive wife. He realized that he had been unhappy for years. Now he had met someone new at work. She was everything that his wife was not and since he started having an affair with her he was happier than he had been in a long time. He told me, “I know God wants me happy and this woman makes me happy, so I believe the Lord led me to her. The Lord will forgive me for the affair and once my divorce goes through and I remarry, this will all be great.”
Unfortunately, Sam is not alone; I have talked to many men and women like him through the years. We make excuses to God, others, and ourselves for doing what we want to do with the rationale that “God wants me happy.” But what if it makes me happy to spend all my money on me and not give much to others? Living a life of ease, comfort, and pleasure makes me happy. Having everything go my way makes me happy. Does this mean God wants me to live a life of self-indulgence? Of course not. While a life of self-indulgence makes me happy for the moment it leads to a life of insignificance and misery.
The truth is that God does want us truly happy; he wants us to live in pure joy. But far more than just being happy, God wants us holy. When we live in Christ and pursue his holiness we will find the real love, joy, and peace we are looking for. The path to real happiness is never sin. Happiness will never go against what God lays out in the Bible as his standards.
Unfortunately many of us have a lousy and untrue image of God. We believe that God is up there in heaven with a big frown on his face, ready to zap us if we have fun. Nothing could be further from the truth. Jesus said he came to give us an abundant life, a life to the fullest, a life to the max. What I missed for a long time was I did not have to choose between life of joy and a life of holiness. When we pursue God and his holiness with all our hearts he will give us the desires of our heart. He will give us a life full of joy.
This means, however, that many times I must choose long-term joy over short-term pleasure and happiness. I choose not to eat an entire carrot cake, which would bring me immediate happiness, because I want the long-term joy of better health. Rather than sitting and watching TV for hours I choose to get up and exercise because I want the long-term joy of being in shape. Rather than the immediate thrill of an affair I choose to continue to love my wife and work through all her stubbornness (of course I don’t have any) because I know the greatest joy comes through being intimate with someone for a lifetime.
The book of Hebrews tells us: “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” When I make happiness my goal, I will end up miserable. When I make holiness and being like Christ my goal I end up with true joy and fulfillment.
