Are You Happy?

The Harris Poll has been conducting a “happiness” survey for the last 9 years.  Although the poll showed that Americans reported being happier in 2017 than 2016, the survey revealed that only 33 % of Americans say they are especially happy overall.

In a nation that has so much, why aren’t more people happy?  Just compare “our” standard of living to the rest of the world.  Consider our income, our homes, our personal transportation, our medical care, our “things” in general; our food supply; the clothes we wear; our entertainment.  Yet, people report being unhappy.

So what is the secret to happiness?  The answer is found in the bible.  In short, the Bible tells us that we become happy through:

  • Our trust in God;
  • Righteous living;
  • Our worship;
  • Learning contentment;
  • Living productive lives in both the secular AND spiritual realm.

Happiness isn’t something given to you nor is it’s not something that just “happens” to you.  Happiness is an attitude.  It is based on how you choose to see your life.  Abraham Lincoln once observed, “Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”  How true!  We actually choose whether we will be happy or not.

About 30 years ago, I was blessed with the opportunity to teach the gospel in the South American country of Guyana for about 2 weeks.  I was stunned at how happy these people were.  This was truly a “third-world country.”  The people were poor.  Yet, they were happy, and they hungered for the gospel.

True happiness doesn’t come from the abundance of “things”, but from being obedient and faithful to God.  Tomorrow morning during the worship hour, we plan to look deeper into what the bible tells us about real happiness, and how we can achieve it.  We hope you will make plans to attend and study with us this relevant topic.