This Week's Light Service Sermon

Light Service Sermons for the Month
The Pursuit of Happiness
The Mystery of Happiness and How to Get it
DATE: March 14, 1999
TEXT: Philippians 4:4-7

If you could be granted one wish for yourself or your family, what would you ask for? There are no doubt several answers to that question, depending on whom you ask. But I'm sure that at the top of most lists we'd find the answer: happiness. In fact, in studies done asking people that very question, happiness was the overwhelming response. Which shouldn't surprise us, because the pursuit of happiness has been an American preoccupation since the penning of the Declaration of Independence 224 years ago. Because of those immortal words of Thomas Jefferson about our right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, we Americans see happiness not only as a desire, but also as a necessity guaranteed by the Constitution. We want our lives to be deeply satisfying and content. We want to experience that comforting feeling of well being--that sense of stability that enables us to weather yesterday's storm, to outlast today's moment of elation, and to endure tomorrow's disappointment. And quite honestly, it feels a whole lot better being happy than sad. Happy people are more energetic, decisive, creative, and sociable than unhappy people are. They're more trusting, loving, and forgiving. Happy people are even healthier than unhappy people. Being happy is simply more fun than being unhappy. And so almost everything we do is done with the hope of experiencing happiness.
William Jones, the great philosopher and psychologist once said that "how to gain, how to keep, and how to recover happiness is in fact for most people at all times the secret nature of all they do." We work hard to be happy. We look for stable relationships to be happy. We spend money to be happy. We seek out therapy to be happy. We vote out certain politicians and vote in others to be happy. Our lives are lived around the pursuit of happiness.
Today we're beginning a new three part series called, "The Pursuit of Happiness." Over the next couple of weeks we're going to look at the characteristics of happy people and how to experience happiness even in the tough times of life. But to kick off our series we're going to talk about the mystery of happiness and how to get it. But before we do, let's pray together.
Dear God: We would really like to know what is the secret to happiness. What makes you happy? The beauty of the cosmos? The joy of creation? The reconciling of two enemies? What is your wish for us? Walk with us as we learn from you what it means to be happy. AMEN
There is perhaps no better illustration of our preoccupation with pursuing happiness than our quest for money and the good life. Happiness, the American Dream, and the accumulation of wealth have all become virtually synonymous in our country. We've come to believe that the more we have, the happier we'll be. Survey after survey shows that the overwhelming majority of people, no matter how much they make, believe that they would be happier if they simply made 10%-15% more than what they currently earn. 25 years ago, when college students were asked what's most important in life, most said family or developing a meaningful philosophy of life. Today, most students say that being well off financially is most important. The problem is that, once we start earning money, we feel we need more to be happy. And that's precisely the challenge with happiness. It doesn't seem to be found in the places that we expect it to be found.
For example, Curtis won five million dollars in the New York lottery. At first he thought he was in a dream world. When asked if he came down to earth, he said, "Oh ya. I came down. I got divorced from my first wife and married my second wife. And I spent a lot of money on the wedding--hundreds of thousands of dollars. And that marriage didn't last five years."
Maybe five million wasn't enough. Sherry won 26 million dollars. She said she was numb for three years. "You must have been happy," the interviewer said. "Yes and no," Sherry replied. "I got a divorce two years after we won."
Study after study shows that most lottery winners are no happier after they won than they were before. Yet I have a hunch that most of us would like to find that out for ourselves. On the other hand, a pastor who works in the third world said of his congregation, "The believing poor have never lost the capacity for having a good time and celebrating, despite the horrible conditions in which they live."
As Americans, we kind of scratch our heads at such comments because it's so ingrained in our culture that wealth will lead to happiness. And yet, all the research tells us otherwise. Money and having lots of stuff, for the most part, has little to do with happiness. Now certainly there are rich people who are extremely happy and rich people who are depressed and unhappy. And there are poor people who are always sad and discouraged and poor people who are continuously happy and content. But that's what makes happiness so mysterious. It doesn't seem to be a respecter of money one way or the other.
So those of us who are serious about happiness find ourselves asking, "Why is it that Curtis and Sherry, with all that money, ultimately weren't happy, and the poor in that third world church are?" We could ask similar questions about other areas where we would expect to find happiness and happy people. For example, many believe that marriage is a key to happiness, and yet why is it that some married people are happy and others are sad? Or why are some with steady jobs happy and others depressed? Or why do some singles find contentment in life while others are constantly looking to fill the emptiness? What is that makes some happy and others depressed? What's the secret of happiness?
People who are truly happy, like those in that third world church, have discovered that happiness isn't about what we have, but about who we are. You see, happiness is determined by what we believe about ourselves. When our self-perception is positive, we experience contentment in life no matter what our circumstances. When we struggle with our self-image, we usually struggle with sadness and discouragement. In other words, happiness comes from what we know and believe, not from what we have.
Today, I'd like to take a few moments to look with you at three happiness-producing beliefs--three things we need to know that we might experience true happiness.
1) First of all, happiness comes from knowing that we are loved and accepted unconditionally.
A couple of years ago, Disney released a beautifully animated version of Victor Hugo's book, "The Hunchback of Notre Dame." It's the story of a deformed young man who spends his life in the bell tower of Notre Dame Cathedral sadly looking down on life but never participating in it because he feels ugly and unlovable. But one day an energetic, loving gypsy girl enters his life. And everything changes. She doesn't care about his deformities. She sees beyond them to his heart. And she becomes his friend. Her loving acceptance gives him the courage to enter into society and to experience all that life has to offer. To put it simply, her love and acceptance put happiness into his life. And for author Victor Hugo, that was precisely the point of the story--that the supreme happiness of life is found in the conviction that we are loved. Knowing that we matter to someone gives us a sense of security and contentment that no one or nothing can take away.
2000 years ago God entered our world in the person of Jesus Christ to send us the message loud and clear that he loves us and accepts us. Jesus came to invite us to be his friends--to experience his love each and every day. And because Jesus loves and accepts us, we can love and accept ourselves, which set us free to live a happy life--a life of security and contentment.
Happy people are people who know that they are loved unconditionally and who experience that love each day in a relationship with Jesus.
2) Secondly, happiness comes in knowing that each day we get a fresh start.
In the movie, "City Slickers," there's a scene where Phil is telling his friend Mitch about how messed up his life is--that his life is going nowhere. He's completely wasted it. With tears in his eyes he buries his head in Mitch's shoulder.
Mitch hugs him for a moment and then says, "Remember when we were kids and we used to play ball. And the ball would get stuck in the tree and you'd yell, "Do over?" Well, you're life is a 'do-over.' You've got a clean slate."
Phil looks at him for a moment and replies, "I have no place to live. I'm going to be wiped out in a divorce because I committed adultery. I probably won't be able to see my kids. I'm alone. How does that slate look now?"
Many of us know exactly how Phil feels because our slates, like his, are scratched and marred with all kinds of failures and shortcomings. And no matter what we do, we can't seem to erase them. We can't seem to do it over. And the more we fail, the more we blow it, the sadder and more discouraged we become.
Jesus knows that we can't clean the slate on our own. It's impossible. That's why he came. To die on a cross for us that the slate might be wiped clean once and for all. Through his death and resurrection he did for us what we cannot do for ourselves-- he paid the penalty for our failures and sins and in the process erased them from our lives. And because he loves us, he offers to forgive us and give us a fresh start every day, no questions asked. And it is such a relief to know that every day, Jesus gives us a do-over, and that the mistakes of yesterday no longer count or matter. And that's one of the keys to happiness, knowing that we're forgiven and can start over again each day.
3) Finally, happiness comes in knowing that our lives count.
There's a fable about a young girl who had no family and no one to love her. One day, feeling exceptionally sad and lonely, she noticed a small butterfly stuck on a thornbush. The little girl watched as the butterfly tried to free itself with no success. So she went up and gently released the butterfly from the bush. Suddenly, the butterfly turned into a beautiful fairy.
The fairy said to the girl, "For your kindness, I will grant you any wish you would like." The little girl thought for a moment and said, "I want to be happy." "Very good," said the fairy and then whispered something into the little girl's ear.
As the girl grew up there was no one happier than she. And everywhere she went people would ask for her secret to happiness. She would simply smile and say, "I listened to a good fairy when I was a little girl."
When she was very old and on her deathbed, friends and family gathered around and begged her to share with them what the fairy had told her. Finally she gave in and said, "She told me that everyone, no matter how secure they seemed, no matter how old or young, how rich or poor, had need of me."
Many of us wander through life missing out on happiness because we don't really believe our lives count. God entered our world in the person of Jesus to tell us that our lives do count--that we have worth and value, that we're created in God image. Jesus came to tell us that God created us for significance. He made each of us unique, with special gifts and talents that enable us to make a special contribution to the world. Our lives do matter, and as we allow Jesus Christ to use us to make a difference in the lives of others, we discover true and lasting happiness. Happiness comes when we know that our lives count, that we can make a difference.
Benjamin Franklin was speaking to a large group of people about the beauty and power of the Constitution. A heckler interrupted him and said, "Sir, them words don't mean nothin' at all. Where's all that happiness you say the Constitution guarantees us." Franklin replied, "My friend, the Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it for yourself."
It's a great story. But it could very well be that our founding fathers didn't quite get it right. For the last 224 years we Americans have been busy trying to pursue and catch happiness with varying degrees of success. But perhaps that's our problem. Happiness can't be pursued or even caught. It can only be received. It's not a matter of what we have but a matter of the heart. For happiness, ultimate contentment and well being, is a gift that can only be received from Jesus. Or perhaps, a better way of saying it is that happiness catches us as Jesus comes to us and assures us of his love, his forgiveness, and our significance.
So I encourage you today to let happiness capture your heart by welcoming Jesus into your life. For as you become friends with him you will discover how much he loves you, you will experience his forgiveness, and he will use you to make a difference in the world. And that's the secret to happiness.

AMEN