The Search For Happiness

Happiness. We all want it, and we spend a lot of time searching for it. As a nation, we are the richest, most educated, and most comfortable people in the world. We are also the unhappiest.

That’s because happiness is not something that we should be looking for. It’s not something that we stumble upon like finding a dollar bill on the ground. Television makes it seem like all we need to do is use the right kind of toothpaste or perfume, and happiness will find us. We should be smarter than that, but it’s incredible how these subtle images affect us when we want something so badly.

Our youth today seek to find happiness in relationships and social gatherings. They soon discover that the search for happiness can be very elusive. They are chasing something that cannot be found; at least not in the places they are looking.

Matthew 6:33 of the Message translation says, "Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met". That sounds pretty plain to me. All we need to do is get as deep in God as we possibly can, and we will end up with everything we want and need. No worry. No frustration. No missing out. No "they’ve got it and I don’t; Why me, why me?"

Instead of searching for happiness, we should be seeking the things that will build us up in Christ. And all those things are found in the bible.

The situations we face as youth at different stages of life may vary, but the life God desires for us never does. It is time that we take an honest inventory of how we are living. That includes everything from how we invest our time to how we spend our money. As long as we leave God out of our pursuits, we have missed the point.

The search for happiness is a waste of time because we are overly involved in just getting what we want. God has a better plan for us: "Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness" 1 Timothy 6:11. In that context, happiness may be possible after all.

By: Edmund Brown.