Thursday, February 27, 2014

Joy vs. Happiness; and Psalm 73

*First post of 2014! Things have been rather hectic lately - my son was born January 9th, and is healthy and wonderful, praise God! I should be able to post a bit more regularly now, well, I hope so anyway!*



Two weeks ago, my pastor used this quote in his sermon:

“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
-        C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory

I have been thinking about it off and on for the last two weeks. It seems that there have been things that happened or came up to draw me back to this quote and the idea that we try to settle for happiness when really we should be reaching for this infinite joy that God offers. The desires of the flesh are temporary and fleeting. When we embrace them we are like a watering can with a crack in it. We can hold water and pour it out to give life to others, but it never goes as far as it ought to because we are leaking away. And we are OK with that because we almost don’t know how to be happy without those things. Our true joy is masked when we set the desires of our flesh before our desire to know and be with God.

You think it would be easier to turn away from all that, especially since we know what it does to us.

Psalm 73 says this:
Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.
But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold.
For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong.
They are free from common human burdens; they are not plagued by human ills.
13 Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure and have washed my hands in innocence.
14 All day long I have been afflicted, and every morning brings new punishments.
15 If I had spoken out like that, I would have betrayed your children.
16 When I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply
17 till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny.
23 Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

I know I struggle with being content with my lot. I know I struggle with not envying others for their stuff. It’s a daily battle. Some days are easier than others. Some days I am reminded that really, it’s just stuff, and I can’t take it with me. Other days I am consumed with my need for something else, something more, and something different.

This is the difference between happiness and joy. We want to be happy. We are happy making mud pies because it occupies us and gives us something to do. Happiness is a feeling. It comes and goes. Joy is a state of being. If we are joyful it means that we are not defined by our situation because we rooted and grounded in something that is unchanging and is strong enough to withstand the trials and troubles of this world.

When things are not fair, and we feel that we are lacking, joy keeps us rooted in our faith because we know that one day God will take us into glory.

When we are tempted to do wrong, to compromise our values and change our convictions because we want more, our love of God and His truth reminds us that there is a final destiny for us and for them. Which do we want?

Joy is not something we get from life, but from God. From knowing that God is the strength of our hearts and our portion forever. It becomes our state of being when we consciously choose God over the things of this world because we recognize that there is something far greater in store for us both here and in heaven.

God help us all to choose joy over happiness. God help us to see how small and fleeting our desires are, and how great and constant His glory is, and that we get to share in it!

2 comments:

  1. I suppose that being "pure in heart" is that state where all the things of this world do not have a pull on us. Happiness is a state and a function of what goes on in this world but joy is something that gets its source from another world. That place where moth and rust do not steal in. Does that make happiness temporal and joy eternal?

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    1. Happiness is temporal, but that is not to say that we won't be happy in heaven. I guess I see happiness as being dependent on other things - happiness is an emotion which means its source is from our situation and circumstances and our perspective on them, whereas joy's source is from God. If we are joyful, then it is likely that we will experience happiness (hopefully more often!) because our situation and circumstance and our perspective on them is different. I guess that is all to say that in life, relationships, work, and activities we should not seek to be happy or "made happy" by those people or things, rather we should seek to be joyful and allow happiness to come from that root.

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