Happiness or Joy?

In 1776, our country's founding fathers signed a document at Independence Hall called the Declaration of Independence. I think it's an amazing document for a number of reasons, but chiefly because it says something that is different from any other foundational document for any other country on the planet.

You probably know at least a few of its famous words:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

The last phrase in this sentence particularly catches my attention: "the pursuit of Happiness." It was the intent of our founding fathers that we, as Americans, be happy people.

A lot of time has passed since that document was signed. Could we be described as a happy people today? I would have to say "no." Americans, as a whole, enjoy a higher standard of living than anyone else in the world. Yet more Americans go to psychologists and psychiatrists than any other people on the planet.

So what is the problem? Simply put, we are pursuing happiness, but we are going about it in the wrong way. For most people, their happiness depends entirely on good things happening in their lives. When things are going well, they are happy. When things are not going well, they are unhappy.

This can cause us to become caught in an endless cycle, because no matter how much we accumulate or how much we accomplish, we always will feel as though there is something more. Our clothes aren't fashionable enough. Our cars aren't fast enough. Our houses aren't elaborate enough. Our jobs aren't rewarding enough. Our relationships aren't romantic enough or fulfilling enough. Life can become a never-ending pursuit of something just beyond our grasp.

In the New Testament, the Book of Philippians talks about something better than happiness. It's called joy. In Philippians' four chapters, the words joy, rejoicing, or gladness appear at least 19 times. This joy to which Philippians refers was not something available to the first-century. It is available to us in the 21st-century as well.

We find an important word throughout Philippians that shows us the way to experience joy. That word is: mind. It appears 10 times in Philippians, while the word think occurs five times. Add to this the number of times the word remember turns up, and you have a total of 16 references to the mind. Are you picking up on a theme here? The secret to joy is found in the way we think; in our outlook or attitude.

The Apostle Paul, the writer of the book of Philippians, said this: In your lives you must think and act like Christ Jesus. That is the mind of a person who puts the needs of others above his own. It stands in sharp contrast to our self-centered attitudes of today, yet, if you want to experience joy that’s what is required.

See, joy doesn’t come from what you have, it comes from Who you know. So let me encourage you today, turn your heart to Jesus to find the joy you’re looking for. When we begin to think and act like Him (which is no small feat, mind you....) we will begin to understand that happiness doesn’t come from acquiring more, but from knowing Him better.