Presenting ...
... a weekly letter of encouragement.
January 31, 1994
Good Morning!
Tell me, is your primary desire in life to be HAPPY or to be
HOLY?
Nothing in the Bible remotely suggests the idea
that we should seek "happiness."
But there is plenty written about seeking holiness: "Pursue
holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord...like the Holy
One who called you, be holy your selves in all your BEHAVIOR."
(Hebrews 12:14; I Peter 1:15)
While many blithely pursue the life depicted on "Fantasy
Island", a battle is raging between the forces of heaven
and hell...between good and evil. It is
here that Satan seeks to destroy us while God is preparing
us for eternity. It is here that either godly character
is being forged, or souls are in the process of destruction.
Hardly a place for "happiness."
"The whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth...waiting eagerly for our adoption...the redemption of our body." (Romans 8:22, 23)
The pursuit of "happiness" is centered in self
and has about it a kind of Disneyesque surrealism. Surrounded
as we are by struggling humanity in the abyss of misery and devastation,
chatting about "happiness" seems a tad trite. Consider
King Solomon's poignant observation:
"It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go
to a house of feasting...to listen to the rebuke
of a wise man than...to listen to the song of fools."
(Ecc. 7:2,5)
Paradoxically, it is only out of a life of holiness and
service centered on glorifying God that we experience purpose,
meaning, and fulfillment. Note Isaiah 58:10,11:
"And if you give yourself to the hungry, and satisfy
the desire of the afflicted, then your light will rise in darkness,
and your gloom will become like midday. And the Lord will...satisfy
your desire in scorched places, and give strength to your
bones; and you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring
of water whose waters do not fail."
If "happiness" were achievable in the wealthiest
Nation on earth, why than are we plagued by boredom, crime, drugs,
the murder of the unborn, teen age pregnancy, and divorce. It
is my suspicion that Satan has been less than truthful
to us in holding out the carrot of "happiness."
What do you think?
Have a great week!
Dwight Hill
© Copyright 1996 Dwight Hill. Unlimited permission to copy or use is hereby granted subject to inclusion of this copyright notice.
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