Happiness

happiness [hap-ee-nis] noun. 1. the quality or state of being happy. 2. good fortune; pleasure; contentment; joy.

happy [hap-ee] adjective. 1. delighted, pleased, or glad, as over a particular thing: to be happy to see a person. 2. characterized by or indicative of pleasure, contentment, or joy: a happy mood; a happy frame of mind.

I was thinking about this today... what is happiness and what drives it? Obviously it is different from person to person... some people might be really happy writing a paper on 16th century middle eastern history, while I would prefer to be shot in the head. I can quite confidently say that the happiest single moment/event of this year so far has been when I went to see the David Crowder*Band last month at Westover Church in Greensboro. Those of you who know me well know that the DC*B is far and away my favorite band on the planet, so it's not really a huge surprise that it was my highlight of the year.

But what is it about certain things that make us happy, and why? I can be happy finishing a difficult homework assignment, playing racquetball, seeing a great live concert, relaxing, hanging out with friends... the list goes on and on. However, there is... there NEEDS to be something more to life than simply the pursuit of one's own happiness. This is not to say that being happy is a bad thing at all however. It is simply an extension of the concept of "too much of a good thing is a bad thing." We can't simply look for satisfaction in things on this Earth - to do so would be futile. We must find our satisfaction beyond this world that we live in. When we do everything "heartily, as for the Lord and not for men" (Col. 3:23, NASB) we find our satisfaction in something outside ourselves: serving our heavenly Father. It is only this kind of work, of living life, of being that can lead to everlasting happiness. Without it, we will be chasing futility... the futility that comes from just doing whatever our hearts desire whenever our hearts desire it. Which, ironically, gets quite un-fun after a while...

So the real question isn't what makes you happy. It is this: "What are you living for?"

(Something else that makes me happy: espresso chocolate chip cookies from Whole Foods. They're heavenly. Om nom nom.)