So, I was watching the inauguration the other day and Barak Obama had said something that made me think. He referred to the Declaration of Independence and said that “all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness”. What I think is that America and everyone else who subscribes to this notion of “the pursuit of happiness” has it all wrong. What people don’t realize is that happiness is something that was never designed to be pursued. It’s not something that can be grasped, bottled or held on to. It’s like trying to find the end of a rainbow or chasing your tail– it can never be caught. Some may be able to hang onto it for a little while, but inevitably, like trying to catch a fragile bubble, it bursts as soon as it’s touched. Happiness is fleeting and temporary.
It’s a never-ending search for many. As soon as we attains all we've dreamt of - money, status, children – sure enough, that feeling will quickly fade and like an addict looking for our next “hit”, we move on to the next great thing, hoping once again that maybe this time we'll be able to achieve the ever-elusive state of happiness. But pursue happiness we will. Some will even sell their souls to the devil to get it. I’ve read once somewhere that even the person who commits suicide is doing it with the ultimate goal to find happiness.
God, it seems, has a very different idea of life. He never mentions happiness as being the end state to which we must all strive. God instead points towards a state of being which roots are much deeper, stronger and lasting – he points to the pursuit of righteousness. Righteousness seems to be one of those theological words that seem so abstract, but really all it means is to be in a state of rightness as opposed to a state of wrongness. It means to pursue a state of rightness with God and the only way He tells us that we can do that is to believe that Jesus Christ died for us.
“But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.” Romans 3: 21-23
Therefore, very much unlike happiness, righteousness is not something that can be “achieved” but rather, it is something that is received and believed. This is because it has already been achieved for us on the cross through Jesus Christ. We just need to believe it and receive it. This is our righteousness.
And in this righteousness God promises that we will find “life, prosperity and honour” (proverbs 21:21). He says that if you seek righteousness “all these things shall be added unto us” (Matthew 6: 33). He says that righteousness sets us free (Romans 6:18); that it will lead to peace (Isaiah 32:17); that it will “deliver us”, “guide us”, “protect us” (Proverbs 11-15). God is essentially saying that righteousness is the key that unlocks true happiness.
Let me better illustrate this point: I was hanging out one evening with some dear friends and their 2 year old son. He did something to dismay his mother and he got disciplined. He cried for a few minutes, languishing in her reproach. Then he did something quite unexpected yet so completely natural; he ran to hug his mother - for assurance that his mother still loved him, to say sorry, and to clear his precious, little conscience. She embraced him with open arms and received him. Seconds later, there he was, playing, laughing and living as if nothing happened. His rightness with her was restored and all was well with his world once again. He was happy. What a beautiful illustration of how it is with us and our God. Only when we are right with our Father are we free to truly be happy.
So, whereas happiness demands a life-long quest to find its holy grail, righteousness simply asks you to run to our Father with open arms asking Him to receive us, restore us, and to clear our conscience. And this He does. He embraces us and tells us how much He loves us. Thank-you Father that we are declared righteous through your precious son.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Good reminder.
Posted by: Ted | 01/23/2009 at 11:42 AM