Biblical Happiness: The Divine Accommodation of happiness
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Part 1: Getting to terms with our terms
Part 1: Getting to terms with our terms
What is Divine Accommodation?
Biblical Happiness: Pleasure or Enjoyment?
What is Divine Accommodation?
What is Divine Accommodation?
God, in His infinite wisdom and mercy, communicates with humanity in ways that are understandable and accessible to finite, limited human beings.
Since God's nature and knowledge are far beyond human comprehension, He "accommodates" His revelation to human capacity.
There is a powerful implication of this:
God sometimes gives commands without explaining them because His wisdom is beyond our understanding. He calls us to trust and obey Him, even when we don’t have all the answers.
This is probably most clearly seen in the dietary laws of Israel.
We already know that God does not care about what food we eat:
15 there is nothing outside the person which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which come out of the person are what defile the person.”
So if God does not care about food, why give commands about food?
Israel's dietary laws in the wilderness provided significant health benefits, especially in a time without modern medicine or food preservation.
The prohibition of certain animals, such as pork and shellfish, helped prevent diseases caused by parasites and bacteria, which were common in warm climates and difficult to detect without proper cooking methods.
The focus on clean animals, fresh produce, and proper food handling reduced the risk of foodborne illnesses.
Additionally, laws regarding blood consumption and carcass contamination helped prevent infections.
These dietary restrictions not only reinforced spiritual obedience but also promoted physical well-being among the Israelite.
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Understand that Moses did not know about the existence of bacteria, prions and how disease spread.
So instead of explaining the unseen world of microbes, virus, prions and bacteria to a totally dumbstruck and confused Moses – God gives these Spiritual Laws, not only for their faith and obedience, but also for their health and well being, but in a way that accommodates their total ignorance on the subject.
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This is not the only time God conceals a powerful spiritual, mental and physical benefit and blessing in a simply command of faith.
Biblical Happiness: Pleasure or Enjoyment?
Biblical Happiness: Pleasure or Enjoyment?
Before we start lets look at the difference between Joy and Happiness.
Joy is not a human emotion – Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
Joy is internal whilst happiness is more external.
Joy is based on Jesus. Happiness is based on circumstances.
Happiness then is based either in Pleasure or Enjoyment.
Pleasure is the instant satisfaction of sinful desires.
Pleasure is NOT something than the child of God should seek.
3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask with the wrong motives, so that you may spend what you request on your pleasures.
4 You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
Enjoyment is very different from pleasure.
Enjoyment is the sanctification of pleasure into something that is Godly.
For example:
Our sinful desires say to be sexually immoral for pleasure. But to truly enjoy sexual intimacy it must be reserved for marriage.
A single person may find pleasure in sexual sin, but they can never find wonderful enjoyment in it.
Here is a kind of litmus test: The bible says:
8 Taste and see that the Lord is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
A born again child of God totally agrees that the Lord is good and that all godliness is good, thus a born again Christians will always find enjoyment in doing whatever is godly.
Notice the powerful difference:
Pleasure is not the goal, Godliness is the goal, and enjoyment is found in the pursuit of that Godliness.
This makes Enjoyment significantly more powerful than pleasure!
Why?
Because even in having to experience UNPLEASANT situations and challenges – even in a circumstantial state of UNPLEASANTNESS if Godliness is still persued, enjoyment is still experienced.
So in this study it is not pleasure we seek, its Enjoyment and to receive enjoyment we must seek godliness.
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Part 2: Lost and just surviving
Part 2: Lost and just surviving
There is a verse in the bible that i believe is a classic example of Divine Accomadation where God is giving what seems like a simple spiritual exhortation, but in reality is a powerful truth that helps us to live the abundant life Jesus promised.
18 Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, But happy is one who keeps the Law.
Lets make sure we understand this verse.
God says that when a person or group of persons, but we’ll just say person for now, when a person has no vision, no goal, no direction, no reason, no aim, no progress - When a person has no vision it massivly impacts their hearts, mind and even their body.
They become unrestrained in their fears, imaginations and even sinfulness!
But a person who wakes up each day with a goal and a purpose to live for is a happy person.
This teaching is for all but especually for those who have the symtoms of zero vision:
Very little enjoyment in the simply things of life.
11 So I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted, and behold, all was futility and striving after wind, and there was no benefit under the sun.
Feel like they are just living day to day.
Find that their mind is often filled with exessive thoughts of worry and even dread.
7 For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.
Suffer from a chronic lack of motiativation.
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Part 3: Direction needs Discernment.
Part 3: Direction needs Discernment.
God says plainly that the curse, the solution to these symtoms is to have Vision, goals, purpose.
But what vision? What goals? What purpose?
This is where Discernment comes in.
What is discernment?
Discernment asks the question: Of all the possible choices and decisions i could make, which one best fulfills the will of God?
You see: The decision that aligns with the will of God is by defanition a godly decision. And since a Christians finds enjoyment in seeking godless - the Presence of vision, goasls and purpose brings massive amouns of enjoyment into their lives.
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There is however one small little obstical:
Knowing GHod’s will and figuring out how your life, marriage and situation need to change inorder to actually accomplish that will is NOT an easy task.
2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
God;s will can only be discerned by rigorus testing.
15 So then, be careful how you walk, not as unwise people but as wise,
16 making the most of your time, because the days are evil.
17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
Discerning God’s will requires us to be very carful and wise. Thinks we are not very good at.
Not to mention that even if you manage to discern what God’s will is, that is not even half the battle won because you then need to figure out HOW this will is to be done.
Part 4: Discerning the Vision vs planning the strategy to attain Vision.
Part 4: Discerning the Vision vs planning the strategy to attain Vision.
There are 2 types of problems or questions that we can face.
Complex Problems and Complicated Problems.
What is the difference?
Complicated problems are, as their name suggests, very complicated to solve - BUT they CAN be solved!
For example:
A farmer has 120 meters of fencing and wants to enclose a rectangular area adjacent to a river. The farmer does not need to fence the side of the rectangle that borders the river. What dimensions will maximize the enclosed area?
Solution:
Picture:
A complicated problem with a complicated solution but at least its a solution.
Complex problems are very different because they often dont have answers or solutions
for example:
Problem: The Liar Paradox
Consider the following statement:
"This statement is false."
Is this statement true or false?
Solution:
Let’s break it down:
If the statement is true, then it must be true that the statement itself is false (because it says "This statement is false").
But if the statement is false, then it cannot be true.
If the statement is false, then it must be true that the statement is not false (because it claims "This statement is false").
But if the statement is not false, then it must be true.
We encounter a self-contradiction in both cases—whether we assume the statement is true or false, we end up in a loop that does not resolve.
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Here is where things get intresting:
Discerning a vision or a goal in light of each of our unique circumstances and challanges is a COMPLEX problem that requires COMPLEX thinking.
When we have discerned the vision or the goal, we then need to come up with a stratigy that will help us accomplish that goal.
Comming up with a stratigy to help us accomplish short, medium and longterm goals is a COMPLICATED proplem that requires COMPLICATED thinking.
Now would you like to know the cherry on top?
The human mind is NOT capible of simultanious COMPLEX and COMPLICATED thinking.
Part 5: The Complexity of finding Vision.
Part 5: The Complexity of finding Vision.
Psychologists have come to understand that the stste of our mind determines the kind of thinking our mind is capible of.
What do we mean by state of the mind?
Our minds can be in one of two states which we classify as:
High Entrope minds
Low Entropy minds.
Entropy refering simply to degree of disorder and chaos.
A high entrope mind is a mind that is filled with disorder and many possibilities.
A low entrope mind is a mind of order and structure.
Lets talk about each sepretly:
The High Entrope Mind:
The High Entrope Mind:
High entropy mind are very open to new ideas and possibilities - there is lots going on in the high entrope mind.
This has both advatages and negatives.
The big advantage is that high entropy minds because they are so open and scattered, this makes them very very good at complex thinking.
And this is fantastic because discernment is a complex problem that needs complex thinking!
However, there is a catch.
High entrope minds are also very high and suseptible to negative emotions.
Like what?
Like feelings of worthlessness, feeling lost, loss of enjoyment and feelings of dread.
Notice:
The negative emotions of a high entrope mind are identical to what God says life will be like when we have no vision.
But here is where a miracle happens:
The moment we figure out the complex problem of discerning our goals or vision, the moment that happens, the entrophe of our minds begins to slow down.
As it slows we enter a Low Entrophy phase:
The Low Entrophy Mind:
The Low Entrophy Mind:
The Low entropy mind is not very good at complex thinking, but then again it does not have to be! The complex problem has already been solved!
The low entrophy mind is however very good as solving complicated problems and this is exacally what we need after we have vision.
Discerning a goal is a very powerful step and absoluty neccesery.
However, knowing the goal and reaching the goal are 2 very different things.
Complex thinking helps you find the goal, but you need complicated thing to figure out HOW you are going to attain that goal.
Low entropy complicated thinking is the stratagising of how we attain our goals.
Complicated thinking is also how we find small yet vital ways to keep ourselves motivated in the persuit of that goal.
And probibly the most impactful aspect is that low entropy minds are also very low in negative emotion.
This makes perfect sense: You have a goal, you have a strategy and your mind is filled with that strategy leaving little or no room for the chaotic type of stressful thinking.
Its as the old proverbs says: “Idle hands are the devils playground”.
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Part 6: God’s call to holiness.
Part 6: God’s call to holiness.
Have you ever wondered:
God knows that we deeply flawed and far from perfect.
14 For He Himself knows our form; He is mindful that we are nothing but dust.
Because of our inability to live righteously the good news is that God sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to save us by doing what we could never ever do: Live a holy and righteous life.
Thats all fine and we say Amen!
But here is the strange part: God knows we are not capible of living perfectly holy, yet He still commands:
15 but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior;
16 because it is written: “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
And even worse:
48 Therefore you shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Is God setting us up to fail?
Absolutly not!
God knows the neccesity of having vision and goals, so God Himself gives us our ultimate long term gaol:
18 But we all, with unveiled faces, looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.
The great goal and vision of every single born again child of God is to be conformed more and more into the likness and charicter of Jesus Christ.
Here is the thing: This is NOT a goal that we can ever fully accomplish in this life - It will only be accomplished at the ressurection:
2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.
Let me explain what is happening:
God, through Jesus Christ, has already fit us for Heaven.
We do not try to live Holy to get to Heaven nor do we try to be perfect to get into Heaven.
Heaven is our through God’s free gift.
So if i cannot be perfect, and since my progress to be perfect has zero effect on my salvation - Why does God give us this command?
What is the point of this Work?
The Work of trying to be holy and live perfect does NOT sanctify us - Jesus sanctifies us:
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her,
26 so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,
27 that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.
The work of living holy to attain the goal of christlikness is NOT what SAVES or SANCTIFIES us, rather it AIMS or ORIENTATES us to live a life of meaning, vision and purpose.
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Part 7: Climbing the Ladder — One Step at a Time
Part 7: Climbing the Ladder — One Step at a Time
While our ultimate goal is clear—to be transformed into the image of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18)—this grand vision can feel overwhelming if not approached with wisdom. God, knowing our frailty (Psalm 103:14), does not call us to leap to the top, but rather to take daily steps of faithful obedience, one rung at a time.
This is why we must break down our long-term godly vision into smaller, manageable, actionable goals.
9 The mind of a person plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.
Notice: God directs not our leaps, but our steps. He does not call us to solve our whole lives in one prayer, one decision, or one day—but to walk faithfully, one day, one step, one obedience at a time.
Even Jacob’s ladder, which he saw in his dream, was not an escalator to heaven—it had rungs:
Genesis 28:12 Jacob’s ladder is a beautiful image of the sanctifying journey: we start on earth, in our limitations, yet heaven is above us, beckoning. But we do not ascend all at once—we must climb, step by step.
12 And he had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
Jesus also emphasized the importance of faithfulness in small things:
10 “The one who is faithful in a very little thing is also faithful in much; and the one who is unrighteous in a very little thing is also unrighteous in much.
Each small goal—each act of godliness, each time we replace pleasure with sanctified enjoyment—becomes a rung. And with each step, we not only draw closer to Christ but also gain motivation, encouragement, and joy to keep climbing.
The apostle Paul modeled this beautifully:
Philippians 3:13–14 Paul did not look at the whole mountain. He pressed forward, step by step, forgetting yesterday’s failures and focusing on today’s faithfulness.
13 Brothers and sisters, I do not regard myself as having taken hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,
14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
And here is the divine mercy in all of this: each completed step produces joy. Not worldly pleasure, but godly enjoyment. The satisfaction of having walked in the will of God—even imperfectly—brings the very motivation we need for the next step.
32 I shall run the way of Your commandments, For You will enlarge my heart.
Each time we walk—He enlarges. Each step we take—He strengthens. Each goal we complete—He deepens our joy.
Final Exhortation
Final Exhortation
Let us not be paralyzed by the greatness of the vision or the height of the ladder. Let us break down the holy calling into daily, doable, godly steps.
Let us aim not for perfect execution, but for faithful direction.
For in seeking godliness, we will find enjoyment—not just at the top of the ladder, but in every faithful step we take on the way up.
9 Let’s not become discouraged in doing good, for in due time we will reap, if we do not become weary.
