9. The Pursuit of Happiness
Long Obedience in the Same Direction • Sermon • Submitted
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Welcome to part nine of Long Obedience in the Same Direction. So what makes you happy? This is a big question that needs to be answered because evidently, one of our purposes in life is to pursue and find happiness. It’s such a big deal that Thomas Jefferson, the main author of the Declaration of Independence embedded it into this revolutionary document. If you have forgotten, this is what is says:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
So do you think Jefferson was just randomly grabbing three things? It doesn’t appear that way does it? According to the Jefferson, these are obvious truths, given to us from God: life, liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. So there you go, God wants you to be happy! It’s in writing. But how does one pursue happiness? Most of us probably don’t believe we need a formal definition of happiness; we know it when we feel it, and we often use the term to describe a range of positive emotions, including joy, pride, contentment, and gratitude.
So in our country we have all this freedom and opportunity to choose all of these different options to find happiness and we give them a try whether it’s the American Dream, the perfect family, an amazing job, great vacations, early retirement…or maybe just the right look or physic. We’ve all experienced, we pursued what we thought would make us happy, and we were happy for a moment but then we are like…ehhh!
This is actually one of the great paradoxes in American life is that while, on average, existence has gotten more comfortable over time, happiness has fallen. This comes from the book: Source: Arthur C. Brooks, “Are We Trading Our Happiness for Modern Comforts?” According to the United States Census Bureau, average household income in the US, adjusted for inflation, was higher in 2019 than has ever been recorded for every income quintile. And although income inequality has risen, this has not been mirrored by inequality in the consumption of goods and services. For example, from 2008 to 2019, households in the lowest income quintile increased spending on eating out by an average of about 22 percent after correcting for inflation; the top quintile increased spending on eating out by an average of just under eight percent.
Another example in the book is the average size of living space per person. New American homes in 2016 were 1,000 square feet larger than in 1973 and living space per person, on average, has nearly doubled. The number of Americans who use the internet increased from 52 to 90 percent from 2000 to 2019. The percentage who use social media grew from 5 to 72 percent from 2005 to 2019. But amid these advances in quality of life across the income scale, average happiness is decreasing in the US. The General Social Survey, which has been measuring social trends among Americans every one or two years since 1972, shows a long-term, gradual decline in happiness—and rise in unhappiness—from 1988 to the present.
Everything that our culture says should bring happiness, well it’s not working. Here’s another more person example of what I’m talking about. Two weeks ago, I was able to connect with a friend who I hadn’t talked with for a while. He told me that he won over $260,000 at the casino. I was obviously excited for him, and for sure he experienced some joy with his winnings…however he told me this: “Tom I don’t care about the money anymore, it just causes problems.” (In my head I’m thinking, “I’d like to have a shot at some of those problems!”)
So if you culture’s approach to happiness doesn’t actually bring happiness, but instead brings problems…we need to ponder this question: Will the pursuit of Jesus lead me to happiness?
If you are new with us, this entire series focused on the journey of following Jesus. The term we use for following Jesus is discipleship; following Jesus, being transformed by Jesus and living on mission with Jesus. We’ve talked about the perseverance that is needed, the struggle, the obedience…but is it possible that following Jesus actually leads to happiness?
In a report by Pew Research that came out in January of 2019 this interesting trend was discovered:
Actively religious people are more likely than their less-religious peers to describe themselves as “very happy” in about half of the countries surveyed. Sometimes the gaps are striking: In the U.S., for instance, 36% of the actively religious describe themselves as “very happy,” compared with 25% of the inactively religious and 25% of the unaffiliated. Notable happiness gaps among these groups also exist in Japan, Australia and Germany.
There were a number of other studies that have been conducted over the last decade that have very similar results. So here is what we learn: people who faithfully follow Jesus are more happy then the rest of the general population.
With the time we have left, let’s discover why not only following the LORD brings happiness, but how we can also bring happiness to others.
If you have a Bible or device, find Psalm 128. If you have the YouVersion Bible app, go to the bottom right hand corner. Look for the three lines. Click on the Menu and then look for Events. Iowa City Church should pop up on your screen. All the Scriptures and Sermon Notes will be there for you to follow along with.
If you are new with us, we are working through 15 Psalms referred to as the Psalms of Ascent. These psalms were sung as the Jewish pilgrims would travel to Jerusalem, which sits atop a mountain. Each psalm reminds the pilgrim of their journey as God’s people. We are using them in a similar fashion. We too, recognize the our journey of following Jesus is a long journey, full of ups and downs…we need reminders to stay the course and remain faithful with Jesus for the long haul.
If you would join me by standing, I’ll read Psalm 128.
1 Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in obedience to him. 2 You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours. 3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table. 4 Yes, this will be the blessing for the man who fears the Lord. 5 May the Lord bless you from Zion; may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life. 6 May you live to see your children’s children— peace be on Israel.
PRAY
How does pursuing Jesus make us happy? Let’s break it down.
1 Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in obedience to him.
The word “blessed” can be translated “happy”. You could say, “Happy are all who fear the LORD. This is where we tap the brakes a bit. Why should we fear the LORD, isn’t fear a negative?
Let me give you an example of what I’m talking about. Is the sun good or bad? It’s 100% good! Without the sun we wouldn’t even exist. The sun is good. Is the sun dangerous? Absolutely! You can get sun burned if you are exposed to it too long. You can’t get close to it because you would literally burn up. So think of it this way: The sun is both good and dangerous…but it’s dangerous because it’s so good.
God falls into the same category. He’s so good because He’s so powerful and if we don’t recognize his power and awesomeness, and disregard his holiness…well that’s dangerous. So maybe another way to say it is this: Happy are the people who deeply revere God and do what He asks.
Not only are they happy, but they will experience the fruit of their obedience.
Fearing God gives us the skill and wisdom to live life well, which in turn brings us happiness. Here is what it says.
2 You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours.
How does this cross over to our journey of following Jesus? Here are a couple of examples that come to mind. Jesus taught his disciples this metaphor of remaining locked into him.
4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
The disciple who continues the path of following Jesus will experience fruit in their lives. If you jump back a couple of chapters you find Jesus washing and serving his disciples. He then says these words.
17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
You will be happy if you do them. We could continue to talk about the beatitudes, Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Here’s the point:
1. Pursuing Jesus Will Bring Happiness
Here’s the amazing thing. It isn’t just about a feeling of happiness, it’s this understanding that you are a part of a bigger blessing or gift to those around you. Look at the next two verses in the Psalm.
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table. 4 Yes, this will be the blessing for the man who fears the Lord.
Please remove any thoughts about women are supposed to have a bunch of children. In ancient cultures, and even some cultures today, having a lot of children was very important and viewed as a blessing or gift. These two metaphors in verse three are full of great meaning. For example, whenever you see the word “fruitful” you should immediately go back to Genesis 1. Here’s what it says.
27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
Humans were created for this partnership with God. We are his representatives here on the planet. Just like God is a Creator and multiplier, so are humans. They are to be fruitful and multiply. Obviously this points to having children, but it’s more then that as well. It’s advancing God’s good work in this world.
Go back to verses three and four. As you fear the LORD and walk in obedience, you will receive gifts from God, these blessings aren’t for you to hoard and hold on to, but they are to be spread about. You in your godly, healthy relationships will bear fruit whether it’s a husband and wife having children, or a couple building a business together or a family serving their neighbors…they are taking the blessings they have recieved and used them to be a blessing. So keep in mind, it’s not just the blessing, it’s also the skill behind the blessing. In other words you have the wisdom to use these blessings well.
That’s also the idea behind the “children are like olive shoots around the table”. The idea is multiplication. God has blessed you with resources that have potential to go be even bigger blessings. When God blesses, it’s to be shared…it’s to be multiplied. The psalmist says this is a gift.
The person who fears God is happy because they get to be a blessing to others. You could say it like this:
2. You Will Be Blessed So You Can Be A Blessing
This is made more clear in the last two verses
5 May the Lord bless you from Zion; may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life. 6 May you live to see your children’s children— peace be on Israel.
As you are a blessing to others, as you and your family are generous, it spreads to your community and to the next generation…bringing peace.
Let me give you a personal example of what this might look like. A lot of you know my son Alex. He’s wired different in that he really loves to work, clean, organize and help. While he was growing up he loved to mow our grass and shovel our sidewalk when it snowed. On one occasion, our neighbor needed her sidewalk and driveway shoveled after a particular snow storm, and her husband was out of town. Alex suggested that we go over and take care of it. Alex is a snow shoveling machine and we knocked it out in no time. As we were walking back to our garage and hanging up our shovels, do you know what I felt? I felt happy, because my son and I took what God had blessed us with and we helped our community a better place.
Here is what we learn:
When we pursue Jesus happiness will follow, and everyone around will benefit.