"July 4th - Dependence Day"
Pastor Susan Langhauser
Sunday, July 04, 2010
Luke 10:1-11, 16-20
“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…”
– Paragraph 2 - The Declaration of Independence
Well, it seems that most of us, especially in a county that is so filled with abundant living, have embraced the “Pursuit of Happiness” part in spades! Some have found what they were looking for, but others seem to continue to experience the “something’s missing” in the midst of their pursuit of happiness.
When I do premarital counseling, I often share the most recent wisdom with a couple – thoughts gleaned from current studies on culture and marriage and relationships in general. One recent study I read had as its premise that our culture does not prepare us for marriage, it prepares us for divorce. Think about that. Our young people date. They find someone who makes them happy and they date that person exclusively, until they are no longer happy, then they break up and find someone else who makes them happy. And so it goes. There is never any experience of committing to someone beyond the level of your own happiness. No one tells them that sometimes, even the people you love and have committed to will NOT make you happy.
Dating is all about finding someone who makes you happy. Marriage is about finding someone who you love more (or at least as much) as you love yourself. Someone you trust. Someone to share a life with.
But finding someone who loves you is not the sole answer. (Anyone who has been loved by someone they
aren’t wild about knows the pain of that inequality…) No, looking for someone to make you happy is not marriage, it’s “pursuing happiness.” And yet that’s what most of us do.
The folks who came to America were not happy in England. They came to find a place to exercise religious freedom. They came to escape a tyrannical monarch. They came, to “pursue” their happiness.
So, therefore, it’s part of the American DNA. I understand that. But people, we are losing our direction.
Our priorities are confused to the point that most people can’t even tell you what they need, they can only clearly express what they want.
Therefore we often find ourselves in the midst of that silly saying, “and when Americans ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy. Which could be one of the reasons why it is so difficult these days to continue to be Christian in America. Somewhere along the line, we got the idea that God is supposed to make us happy – that God’s church is supposed to make us happy – that our faith is supposed to answer all our questions, solve all our problems and give us everything we want. Kind of silly, when you think about it…but I’m afraid we’ve all fallen under the spell of “the pursuit of happiness.”
Well, I’m here to tell you that Jesus did not come to make you happy. Jesus came to save our sorry lives with the One thing that endures – beyond money and work, beyond recreation and entertainment, beyond friends and family, beyond even “happiness” - and he did it with God’s love for us. Now don’t get me wrong. I love this country, and I’m proud to be American! But let’s see what the Bible says about “happiness.”
The word, “happy” appears in Scripture 90 times, and many of them are in the Psalms we call “praise Psalms.” Listen to a few of the phrases from these passages that deal with happiness:
Happy are they that take refuge in God
Happy are they whose transgressions are forgiven
Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord
Happy are they who make the Lord their trust
-who consider the poor; who trust in God
-who live in God’s house; whose strength is in God
-who God disciplines; who observe justice
Happy is the child who follows God
Happy are they who fear the Lord; whose way is blameless
-who keep his decrees; who find wisdom;
Happy is the one who listens to God.
When I look at the entire witness of Scripture, I don’t see many, if any, examples of God calling someone out to do something that will make them happy; I don’t see folks “in pursuit of happiness…” I see:
Abraham called to a land he does not know, to people he’s never met
Moses called from his life to take his people out of slavery in Egypt
David called from herding his father’s sheep to being king of Israel
Jesus calling the 70 to go proclaim the Kingdom of God with no resources, no support
None of it was for the purposes of making them happy. In Hebrew the word is “aw-sher,” and it means to go, guide, lead, relieve – Happiness is rooted in faithfulness and trust in God and God’s callings such that, when the 70 returned, it was with “joy” at what God had done, through them. If you are still confused about the distinction between happiness and joy, consider talking with someone who has taught Sunday School for many years on the day the Confirmands give their statement of faith. You will see pride in their eyes and joy. Ask someone who has just returned from a mission trip. They will be so filled with love and joy that they will be moved to tears and probably find it difficult to speak. Ask someone who has had a good friend come and listen to their grief, or their fear or their problems. Chances are, without saying a word, the person will tell the friend, “I feel so much better now, thank you for listening. You have shared my burdens.” These small ministries to others come with joy attached, because they are God doing work through you.
The word “Joy” appears some 219 times, almost three times the occurrence of happiness in the Bible. Listen to some of these phrases:
For the joy of the Lord is your strength
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
Enter into the joy of the Master
Sing for joy; shout for joy
You will have joy; you will receive joy
We are writing these things so that our joy may be in you
and that your joy may be complete…
People of God, don’t sell your faith life short! Jesus doesn’t want to stop with “pursuit of happiness” – Jesus wants to bring you JOY. Joy rooted in eternal, unchangeable, unconditional love. That is God’s world. That is the Kingdom of God we are to proclaim. Don’t settle for “happy.” God wants you to have joy. AMEN.