in pursuit of happiness...

Happiness. Or, if you prefer the Will Smith version: Happyness (and its pursuit therein.)

It's our obsession. Often times a nice one, but an obsession nonetheless. One of our constitutionally declared human rights: of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Sorry, Will, we tend to prefer to use "i" as often as possible.

Webster defines it as "a state of well-being characterized by emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy"). For most people, that correlates to "good times," "pleasure," and "fulfillment of our desires." Happiness always seems to be one acquisition away: a spouse, freedom, a child, more money, a house, a new toy, deeper faith, a few more goats, a bottle of milk, you name it.

Yet, this system of happiness is deeply flawed because it always leaves us searching for more. It is hedonistic in nature and never leads one to a place of contentment. It's the search for contentment which is preceded by the qualifier "If only I had..." or "If only I were" which can be followed by any variation of hedonistic to holy items and adjectives.

And the Christmas/New Years season seems to be the King Kong of all seasons for this pursuit of happiness and self-improvement.

Please don't mistake me: there is plenty of good that can come from constantly seeking to grow or improve or go deeper. There are good growth goals, and good New Years resolutions. I've already made my five or six. But at a root level, we are looking for our happiness in the wrong places.

At a root level (see previous post), we are assuming that we by doing the right things, pursuing the right things, and changing ourselves in the right ways, can bring ourselves happiness. Even in a Christian context: I want to pray more, I want to deepen my faith, I want to be faithful in my QTs or generous with my money. Those are good things. But they start from a position of self-action. And that's flawed. This true "happiness," that deep sense of contentment and intense joy, can only come from surrendering our lives, and our goals to someone who knows better, who has only our best in mind. Otherwise, it's just a constant striving for self-improvement in which we will inevitably fail.

So, here's my suggestion: instead of creating our own New Year's resolutions, instead of attempting to "make" ourselves "happy," why don't we ask God what he would have us do? You see, He seems to have the master plan for our eternal well-being (which may look drastically different than what we think we want), and my guess is, His plan is better than ours. May our words echo Paul's in Philippians 4:12-13

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

Our contentment, our intense joy, even our happiness does not come from our "pursuit" but rather from our rest in a good God who knows better than we, what is best for us.