Happy vs Holy
I want to start out by saying that happiness and holiness BOTH come from God. Without a holy life, my happiness is not fully possible.
Everyone pretty much knows what the word happiness means, but a lot of people get confused when they hear the word holy. Holy literally means to be set apart. Most of the time you really don't hear people calling someone else holy unless they're saying how "Oh such and such thinks they are holier than thou!" Lol. This is not what I am talking about though. To be holy simply means to be set apart.
I think that the number one problem in Christianity today is that individuals who are not Christians can not even decipher who the Christians are in a room anymore, because Christians today lack holiness. We are not set apart anymore...like at all. We listen to the same things that the world does, we say the same things and when we sit next to them doing these things-- we just go along to get along. This is not reaching anyone. If anything it is making the unbelievers think that we are a bunch of phony's. I know some of the things that I am saying may be controversial, but it is simply the truth. If an unbeliever or simply another human cannot look at you and see there is something different about you without you saying a word to them about your faith-- I would question if you even had it.
Back in Jesus' time, He did not have to go around telling everyone "Hey! You know I am different right? Don't I seem a little different than the rest?" NO. He didn't have to, because it simply showed in how He chose to live His life. Yes, us as Christians are called to share the good news, but I think it makes the most difference in how we live out our lives.
Back to the topic....
Of course, God wants all of His children to be happy...but if He had to pick between us being happy or us being holy...He is going to pick holy every single time.
"Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the LORD." (Hebrews 12:14)
The Christian life is a holy life. So many people subscribe to the "Gospel of temperament." In other words, they subscribe to the belief that they must be happy all of the time. But this is simply not true. God INSISTS that we keep our eyes fixed on Him and the "straight and narrow way," which, in essence, is pure love and holy living in every area of our lives.
Happiness is not to be our primary aim. Our aim is to please the Lord, to serve Him in the beauty of holiness, in love, and in humility.
Basically, happiness is temporary. If you seek Jesus, His joy is never ending. Happiness is "Oh I just got this brand new 2021 car, so I am happy!" Joy is "My car is older, but it gets me to where I need to go and it is a blessing." Not saying that happiness always comes simply from things, but you get the point.
I say it all the time- God is more concerned with the CHARACTER of his people than their contentment and comfort.
God is more focused on our LASTING holiness than on our FLEETING happiness. God is determined that the circumstances of out lives-- including our struggles and pain-- will be lovingly used to shape our lives so that we can become more like His Son, Jesus.
"We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose."
This is not to say that God causes pain in our lives, but simply that He USES our pain and struggles for our own good. Our experiences are never wasted or pointless.
At one level this makes perfect sense. If we are genuinely interested in developing a more solid character-- being more loving, kinder, more patient, etc., then we must admit that such traits are not developed in easy and comfortable times. Such virtues are born of the spiritual growth done in hard times. We learn very little when life is easy.
For example, Jesus promised His disciples something much deeper than happiness through their faith in Him and endeavor to remain in Him, He promised that they would experience complete, full JOY.
And we all know that JOY >>>> HAPPINESS.
As Paul endeavored to live a holy life in relationship with God - and suffered greatly as a result - he found CONTENTMENT in life. From a PRISON CELL, he wrote, "I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances, I know what it is to be in need, and I know what is is to have plenty. I have learned the secret to being content in every situation. Whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength."
I really hope that you enjoyed this blog as much as I enjoyed writing it! I hope everyone has a great week and I am always here if ya'll need me. <3
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