Does God care if we are happy?
- Thread starter CityGirlintheCountry
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No.
The pursuit of our own happiness should not be the objective of the Christian. I am not implying that anyone is stating this here.
But in general there seems to be varying degrees of Hedonism running through the sundry camps of Christendom.
Whether or not we are "happy" does not seem to be the case for garnering the "care" of God.
What does seem to be the case is that which does or does not make us Happy.
For Christians we are to delight ourselves in the Lord. Ps. 37:4
Our 'satisfaction' is to come from the Lord. This is why it is written "O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days." Psalm 90:14
Joy in our hearts come from Him. "Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased." Psalm 4:7
The Lord does great things for us and in Him doing these things we are glad "The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad."Psalm 126:3
We gain joy by his presence "Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." Psalm16:11
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I think those at Westminster summed it up very well in 1648 when they asked the question:
"What is the chief and highest end of man?" that is to say what is the ultimate purpose of mankind.
To which they answered "Man's chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy him forever."
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Romans 11:36. For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen. 1 Corinthians 10:31. Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. Psalm 73:24-28. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee. But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works. John 17:21-23. That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
But in general there seems to be varying degrees of Hedonism running through the sundry camps of Christendom.
Whether or not we are "happy" does not seem to be the case for garnering the "care" of God.
What does seem to be the case is that which does or does not make us Happy.
For Christians we are to delight ourselves in the Lord. Ps. 37:4
Our 'satisfaction' is to come from the Lord. This is why it is written "O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days." Psalm 90:14
Joy in our hearts come from Him. "Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased." Psalm 4:7
The Lord does great things for us and in Him doing these things we are glad "The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad."Psalm 126:3
We gain joy by his presence "Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." Psalm16:11
***************************************************************************************
I think those at Westminster summed it up very well in 1648 when they asked the question:
"What is the chief and highest end of man?" that is to say what is the ultimate purpose of mankind.
To which they answered "Man's chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy him forever."
***************************************************************************************
Romans 11:36. For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen. 1 Corinthians 10:31. Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. Psalm 73:24-28. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee. But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works. John 17:21-23. That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
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Thanks for the intriguing question city girl...I've read every page before I posted my thoughts, and wanted to preface with we're in the same boat, belief-wise, so my being a child of God will certainly reflect my opinion...that being said, I guess to be honest I don't believe God's priority is for us to be 'happy,' in the human sense of the word. As others have noted, happiness means different things to different people so the definition is pretty wide open for interpretation. I sort of compare happiness to the start of a bonfire...brilliant, exciting, fun, bright, but short-term. Joy, on the other hand, is more like once the fire burns down a bit...sort of glows, flickers, and stays around a lot longer,...I think what I'm getting at is God (IMO) desires us to have joy in Him. Happiness is short term and based on what's affecting us right at this moment, on the surface. Joy comes from inside and isn't based on the weather, the bank account, the clothes,jewelry,etc...I did see a couple of online sites that you might find interesting (I do have to put in a disclaimer here--I am not really familiar with this guy or his site, I just read what he'd written about happiness and he had quite a few good points). http://kevinmartineau.blogspot.com/2008/09/sermon-synopsis-921-god-wants-me-happy.html
....my last little nugget is, although I don't believe God's priority is our 'happiness,' that doesn't mean He doesn't want us to be happy..why else would He have created the beautiful earth He did? What purpose does an incredible sunset serve? Why the amazing flowers, the colors that surround us? The crazy, funny, goofy chickens we all enjoy so much? The first sign of spring when the faint tinge of green is in the distance, and the no-two alike snowflakes blowing around my backyard right now? It seems to me that the earth could get along just fine if it had been created in black and white and was simply functional. God never, ever said that if we chose to follow Him we'd be without trouble...He simply said that we would never, ever be alone through those troubles, and it would get better..he gave us hope by giving us Jesus. When life gets tough I try to remind myself that I don't see the big picture, and trust in my lord.
Thanks for the intriguing question city girl...I've read every page before I posted my thoughts, and wanted to preface with we're in the same boat, belief-wise, so my being a child of God will certainly reflect my opinion...that being said, I guess to be honest I don't believe God's priority is for us to be 'happy,' in the human sense of the word. As others have noted, happiness means different things to different people so the definition is pretty wide open for interpretation. I sort of compare happiness to the start of a bonfire...brilliant, exciting, fun, bright, but short-term. Joy, on the other hand, is more like once the fire burns down a bit...sort of glows, flickers, and stays around a lot longer,...I think what I'm getting at is God (IMO) desires us to have joy in Him. Happiness is short term and based on what's affecting us right at this moment, on the surface. Joy comes from inside and isn't based on the weather, the bank account, the clothes,jewelry,etc...I did see a couple of online sites that you might find interesting (I do have to put in a disclaimer here--I am not really familiar with this guy or his site, I just read what he'd written about happiness and he had quite a few good points). http://kevinmartineau.blogspot.com/2008/09/sermon-synopsis-921-god-wants-me-happy.html
....my last little nugget is, although I don't believe God's priority is our 'happiness,' that doesn't mean He doesn't want us to be happy..why else would He have created the beautiful earth He did? What purpose does an incredible sunset serve? Why the amazing flowers, the colors that surround us? The crazy, funny, goofy chickens we all enjoy so much? The first sign of spring when the faint tinge of green is in the distance, and the no-two alike snowflakes blowing around my backyard right now? It seems to me that the earth could get along just fine if it had been created in black and white and was simply functional. God never, ever said that if we chose to follow Him we'd be without trouble...He simply said that we would never, ever be alone through those troubles, and it would get better..he gave us hope by giving us Jesus. When life gets tough I try to remind myself that I don't see the big picture, and trust in my lord.
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Then my answer is no, not the deity of the bible.
Then my answer is no, not the deity of the bible.
I love being difficult. I think the answer is maybe. The Bible never claims that he will give us all happy times. He makes promises to us. Promises like he will be there with us during the hard times. He will give us grace and peace while we fight through lifes struggles. If we pray with faith and in his name he will give us our hearts desires. That last one is tricky because some do not know what their heart actually desires or how to get what they desire. So they may think a certain man as a husband or a certain job is their hearts desire but God knows it won't work out to our benefit and says no. Granted sometimes we just ignore what is offered and do our own thing and then complain because of the result. I have done that a few too many times. So the answer is maybe. It depends on what we need at that time. If life is all happiness people tend to get a bit corrupt. You have to have the balance of sorry and happiness to truely appreciate it.
I get discontent from time to time, even as easy and good as we have had things. Then one little bad thing happens and I ask Why am I being punished. I'm not. I might be getting taught or tested. The thing is in the end I am happy. I realize how blessed we have been and how easy we actually have it and I have been given something I needed. If I never had those horrible times how would I ever learn to appreciate all we have.
Please also don't think this heretical or anything but to a point I agree that the Bible is not the only source of guidance we should rely on. I have been to many churches and have been taught my far too many teachers and they all interpret the Bible differently. Half the time when reading it I end up arguing with myself. I don't think the Bible was ever supposed to be our sole source of guidance. This is where religion drops to the wayside and true spirituality come to the forefront. We are lead by the spirit.
I get discontent from time to time, even as easy and good as we have had things. Then one little bad thing happens and I ask Why am I being punished. I'm not. I might be getting taught or tested. The thing is in the end I am happy. I realize how blessed we have been and how easy we actually have it and I have been given something I needed. If I never had those horrible times how would I ever learn to appreciate all we have.
Please also don't think this heretical or anything but to a point I agree that the Bible is not the only source of guidance we should rely on. I have been to many churches and have been taught my far too many teachers and they all interpret the Bible differently. Half the time when reading it I end up arguing with myself. I don't think the Bible was ever supposed to be our sole source of guidance. This is where religion drops to the wayside and true spirituality come to the forefront. We are lead by the spirit.
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Well said...
"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork" Psalm 19:1
When the children of God see God glorified they take pleasure in the actual glorification of God more than the 'thing' itself.
For example many of the Christian poultry fanciers & breeders marvel at the wonders of the various and complex genetic phenotypes* witnessed in the poultry world. For the Christian, while we recognize the beauty therein we gain joy from the actual declaration of the glory of God. Whenever the Christian witnesses the Glory of God even in small ways we gain joy from this. Much greater and magnificent is the joy we gain from the life, death and resurrection of Lord Himself.
Well said...
"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork" Psalm 19:1
When the children of God see God glorified they take pleasure in the actual glorification of God more than the 'thing' itself.
For example many of the Christian poultry fanciers & breeders marvel at the wonders of the various and complex genetic phenotypes* witnessed in the poultry world. For the Christian, while we recognize the beauty therein we gain joy from the actual declaration of the glory of God. Whenever the Christian witnesses the Glory of God even in small ways we gain joy from this. Much greater and magnificent is the joy we gain from the life, death and resurrection of Lord Himself.
Wow I am amazed that this has went so well!! Glad of that too good thread and good question.
I Do believe he wants us to be happy, however his "idea" of happy and some things that make us "happy" might not be what he has in mind. Like someone else said money makes alot of people happy but my idea of "Rich" is having family, friends, health and faith. There is alot of scripture that talks of him wanting us to be happy and "his Happy" and how to get that happiness.
Continue on....
I Do believe he wants us to be happy, however his "idea" of happy and some things that make us "happy" might not be what he has in mind. Like someone else said money makes alot of people happy but my idea of "Rich" is having family, friends, health and faith. There is alot of scripture that talks of him wanting us to be happy and "his Happy" and how to get that happiness.
Continue on....
If the OP were going to ask such a "religious" question, he/she should first have defined his/her concept of "happy" since it's such a nebulous term.
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Sorry, these types of postings always attract the doubters and as usual I attempt to set them straight. I always let them get me started. Yes I believe the bible to be God's word and my lifes experience has proven to be a resounding yes He does care whether we are happy. Time and time again we can read where doing things His way will bring a blessing. If He didn't want us to be happy why would He bother? I see the word of God not as a bunch of do's and don'ts but a "how to book" on how to please God and in doing so bring joy to ourselves and others. Not everyone but some. Can God be happy? yes "the JOY of the Lord is my strength". The angels in heaven REJOICE when one sinner repents. (paraphased). Lk 15:10
Ps 16:11 Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of JOY; at Thy right hand there are PLEASURES forevermore. Clearly God does care if we are happy, otherwise He would not have given us His word to show us the path of life.
Take care
Rancher
Hey 149 postings is that a record
Sorry, these types of postings always attract the doubters and as usual I attempt to set them straight. I always let them get me started. Yes I believe the bible to be God's word and my lifes experience has proven to be a resounding yes He does care whether we are happy. Time and time again we can read where doing things His way will bring a blessing. If He didn't want us to be happy why would He bother? I see the word of God not as a bunch of do's and don'ts but a "how to book" on how to please God and in doing so bring joy to ourselves and others. Not everyone but some. Can God be happy? yes "the JOY of the Lord is my strength". The angels in heaven REJOICE when one sinner repents. (paraphased). Lk 15:10
Ps 16:11 Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of JOY; at Thy right hand there are PLEASURES forevermore. Clearly God does care if we are happy, otherwise He would not have given us His word to show us the path of life.
Take care
Rancher
Hey 149 postings is that a record
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