PURSUING HAPPINESS
“Do you want to be happy?” The splash on a magazine cover caught my eye
and made me chuckle.
Surely everyone wants to be happy; and you’d think that after millennia
of philosophers and theologians tackling the problem—not to mention the
self-help books and articles published every year on the topic—we’d have
figured out the formula! So how easy is it to be happy?
Consider what Abd-ar-Rahman III, the Emir and
later Caliph of Córdoba in the 10th century, had to say: “I have now reigned
above fifty years in victory or peace, beloved by my subjects, dreaded by my
enemies, and respected by my allies. Riches, honors, power, and pleasure have
waited on my call, nor does any earthly blessing appear to have been wanting to
my felicity. In this situation, I have diligently numbered the days of pure and
genuine happiness which have fallen to my lot; they amount to fourteen.”
Only 14?! If someone like that could hardly ever find it in himself to
be happy, what chance is there for the rest of us? For some reason, the more we
pursue happiness, the more it seems to elude us, remaining just beyond our reach.
God expects believers to be happy. “Happy are the people whose
God is the Lord!” (Psalm 144:15), King David
confidently proclaimed. Yet I’ve felt unhappy on occasion, so what am I doing
wrong?
I think my problem is that I look at happiness as a destination, a place
I’ll be at when I can achieve this goal, go on that vacation, get that dream house
or car or job—maybe win the lottery—whereas it’s really the scenery that I
could experience along the way as I draw closer to God and reach out to others.
Rather than a goal in itself, I’m learning that happiness can be the byproduct
of a life lived on good terms with God and my fellow man.
Samuel Keating