Why Aren't We Happy?

America is home to the supposed "happiest place on Earth" (Disneyland) and everything there is make-believe.  Isn't this very telling of who we are?  We search and search and search and we cannot find happiness, so we attempt to create it artificially.  But let's stop pretending for a moment and ask ourselves:

Why aren't we happy?

I'm not talking about the laugh-at-a-good-joke happiness, the had-a-good-day happiness, or even the I'm-really-thankful-for-this-moment happiness.  I'm talking about the kind of happiness that, even while there are tears in your eyes, is a rushing river that washes over you and pulls at every part of your soul.  The kind of happiness that only comes from God.

"But Jessica," you say, "I follow God.  And I feel that kind of happiness sometimes, yes, but not all the time."

Exactly!  That's what I am asking: Why aren't we happy?

We are not happy because we seek happiness in God, rather than seeking God.  The fact that happiness is a result of God is no secret in the Bible.  As Timothy Keller points out, though, no where in the Bible does it say, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for blessedness" or "Blessed are the blessed in spirit."  This is not the message of the Gospel.

Instead, the message of the Gospel is this: we are unworthy.  We fear the idea that we must serve God simply because we owe Him.  We want to be told that we can earn our worthiness if we work hard enough.  We want to be told that when we come to God, He owes us.  But these things are not true: we come to God because we owe Him.

When we understand our unworthiness, we understand what He has done for us.  When we understand what He has done for us, we realize we have no choice but to love Him, not because we are obligated to but because it is impossible to react in any other way.  When we learn to love Him, we will seek His kingdom and righteousness above all else.

Where does happiness fit in?  It is not a step along the path, nor a destination.  It is simply a bi-product.

"But seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." -Matthew 6:33