This struck me as an interesting question: does God want me to be happy? I don't know. Is there a verse or Biblical passage that we can look to to find the answer? Perhaps, or at least one might attempt to identify those passages that might support the principle. But I'm not going to make a biblical argument either way, at least not in this post. Instead what I'd rather do is offer a couple alternative questions that might give us a broader context, or at least beyond the context of ourselves. So here they are:
Does God want us to be holy, or does He want us to be happy? Is it an either-or question or a both-and?
So what do you think? Let me know your thoughts...
3 comments:
Okay, Chris. I see it as having joy in all circumstances.
We can be holy and happy, regardless:
But may the righteous be glad
and rejoice before God;
may they be happy and joyful.--Psalm 68:3
Graham, I agree that for the Christian, joy follows from following Christ. We can find contentment in all circumstances because, in light of what God has done for us in justifying us and continually conforming us to the image of His Son, we can live a life full of joy, even if our world comes crashing down around us. It is not a promise of happiness, but it is the solid foundation of joy possible, if we have the right perspective.
I wouldn't say that God doesn't want us to be happy, but I do think that He is more concerned about our holiness, in that positionally, we are found in Christ which makes us spotless and holy before God, and that He also desires that we are responsive to the work of the Spirit's sanctifying work in our lives.
Sorry for the long reply, just thinking a lot about this lately. Thanks for adding your thoughts.
Chris,
Appreciate your post and especially the comment you posted afterwards. Very good points and points we sometimes forget. In fact, seems that some churches are preaching that God does want us happy and that we should seek that above all. These are the same churches that have taken sin and repentance out of their vocabulary. I truly believe that we were put here on earth to worship God and become more like Him. I also agree with Graham that we will have joy when we do this. However, there are constantly opportunities to have joy and not have happiness.
Good thoughts, Chris, thanks!
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