How Can A Man Find True Happiness?

“Finally, brethren, whatever is true ,whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”

(Philippians 4: 8, NASB)

Over the past year or two I have made it a practice to write inspiring quotes to post on my facepage to encourage those who visit my page on facebook. To me, it is a simple way to minister to people and to bring glory to my great God and Saviour Jesus Christ. Sometimes people will hit the "like" button or write a comment. However, every once in awhile I will get a comment that disagrees with my quote I posted. I enjoy such criticisms, for there is always something that can be learned from the response. Of recently, two people responded to a recent quote I had posted. Before I mention their responses; here is the "quote" I had posted:

"Many people think happiness is dependent on the state of our mind. Just feed our mind with enough positive thoughts and we will be happy. So we are told by positive thinkers. However, what they don't take into account is that it takes discipline to train your mind to think good thoughts, and if such positive thoughts never reach and reside in the heart and become a way of life for us, then they remain trapped in the bubbles in our minds, which eventually floats away and pops into oblivion. In other words, good thoughts are useless if they remain in our minds, but if such thoughts reach deep down into our hearts and take root and bear fruit, then happiness and joy will be a way of life for us; because we allowed positive thoughts to affect the state of our heart. The best way to do this is to meditate on God's Word (see Phil. 4: 8-9; Psalm 119: 11; Prov. 23: 7; 1 Pet. 2: 12)."

One fellow gave this brief comment, "Not convinced thinking helps at all." In which I responded, "Not convinced, then what would you suggest then? For usually the way we think leads to an action..." He never responded back, but deleted his response a few moments later. Now the second gentleman wrote twice in a brief, but friendly exchange we had in regards to my quote. His response is as follows:

"I've never considered any god's words, but I'm happy all the time simply because I recognized that I COULD be, and that my happiness was purely within my control, utterly and always."

I responded to his comment as follows:

"That's true, [my friend], for I know alot of people who are happy apart from meditating on God's Word. For people can discipline themselves to think good and positive thoughts by simply approaching life with the right attitude. However, "Happiness" is something we have to continually work at; for happiness is always in a state of flux because it is dependent on "happenings." Whereas the joy that one derives from the Word of God is not dependent on shifting circumstances, but relies on the "peace" that only God's promises from his Word can give."

 

Then he followed up with this last response:

"Actually, you're entirely mistaken, Jerry - Happiness is ENTIRELY internally generated, and completely independent of the circumstances in which we find ourselves. If it helps you to meditate/pray on "Gods Word", then by all means, go with it! :)

Just try to appreciate that it is NOT a requirement for anyone else's happiness, and it can/will ONLY provide happiness to those who FIRSTLY believe it will, like any placebo."

The exchange ended there with my next response to what he said:

"[My friend], I appreciate where you are coming from. Really I do. I never force what I believe or have convictions about on others. The reason I write such quotes above is to encourage others in ways - like the example above - to have a more positive mindset. For right thinking leads to right living. Nevertheless, I do find this part of your comment interesting: "Happiness is ENTIRELY internally generated, and completely independent of the circumstances in which we find ourselves." If what you mean by "internally generated" refers to "right thinking being produced entirely from oneself." Then to a point you are correct. However, in order for right or positive thinking to be "ENTIRELY internally generated" as you quoted, there has to be a source. So where do you draw "your source" from...?"

He never responded back to my comment above. I believe it was the question at the end of my comment that no doubt stopped him in his tracks. For he well knew the only response he could give was that he originally drew his "happiness" from a "source" outside himself. Which of course would have contradicted what he had said in his previous response: "Happiness is ENTIRELY internally generated, and completely independent of the circumstances in which we find ourselves." This of course, is hard to believe, because everyone who has any life experience in the real world knows they are not happy all the time. Hard "circumstances" do come into our lives that seems to drain us of any joy or happiness we may have had. For example, a death of a loved one, losing a job we really depended on, a spouse who we deeply cared about leaves us for someone else, etc. I am sure my readers get the point. We all would love to be happy all the time, but when the reality of life kicks in, for most of us, we know we cannot be happy all the time. Now I am not saying we need to stay in a depressed state when tragedy strikes us. Not at all. Like a boxer who takes a blow from his opponent in the ring. He doesn't just give up, he fights a good fight until one of them wins. Paul's words are helpful here, "Fight the good fight of faith..." (1 Tim. 6: 12). So we are to do the same in life. Like I said earlier, we cannot be happy all the time, but we certainly can strive to be MORE joyful than we were before! Dear reader, let us work towards that end, to be a more happier person.

If we have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, then we have all the reason in the world to be a more joyful person! "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose" (Rom. 8: 28). In closing, here is my last response to the second guy's comments to me:

"[My friend], now as for referring to God's Word as some "placebo." To begin with, for those who may read this, a "placebo" is "an inert medication used for its psychological effect or for purposes of comparison in an experiment" (Merriam-Webster). No, God's Word cannot be reduced to some quick fix to medicate our mind with some pleasant and positive thoughts, nor is it some sort of psychological drug that we experimentally prescribe to others to help them think good thoughts. If it helps, good, but if it doesn't then let's try something else. That option is not left for us to decide how we want to judge and dismiss God's Word as some cheap placebo. However, God's Word has been written by holy men of God as they were directed by the Holy Spirit (see 2 Peter 1: 20-21). One of the main reasons why a lot of people do not want to read the Bible is because they do not like what it says about their sin. So they reject it without ever considering the "solution" that it has about our sin problem and God's love and provision. I well know what I am saying is NOT POPULAR in today's culture, but is frowned upon. For such people do not like the fact that God's Word points out their sin and judges it to be wrong. People today find this offensive. But we must remember (which draws us back to the topic at hand), our sinful actions can always be traced back to its root, which is our thought life. "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he" (Proverbs 23: 7). Having said all this, it is your CHOICE whether you accept or reject the Word of God. But know this, there are consequences to the choice we make in regards to the message of God's Word. You are probably NOT going to respond to this message, Johnny, Lol. That's okay by me, I understand. I do appreciate your comments and I sincerely do wish you all the best my friend."