Thanks Griffin, a great essay. I was especially struck by 'personal happiness as an idol', as it explains my discomfort at the amount of prayers I hear by people for things that they want to happen. Even if they are very good things (according to my analysis of good and bad), I wish there was more praying for God's will to be done in our lives, not for the statisfaction of our happiness. What do you think, am I off on the wrong track?
I have also spent a good amount of time dwelling on the difference between what we call 'happiness' and 'joy' and 'contentment'. The connotation of words changes over time, and I feel like happiness seems quite fleeting and emotional compared with those who are content and/or joyful.
Hmmm. I think I get what you're saying in the first part, but I think we should also let all our request be made known to God - even if they seem silly and superfluous. Because, I think, the entire nature of prayer is somewhat silly and superfluous since God "knows what we need before we ask Him" (Matt. 6). So even though it is wiser and ultimately better to prayer that His kingdom would come and will be done, I don't ever want to shy away from asking for the dumb small things or things I really think that I want because I don't want to sacrifice that relationality or put on a front during prayer as if I want to pretend that I don't want the things that I want.
Also, David Brooks has some exceptional points about the difference between happiness and joy in the first section of The Second Mountain!
Yes, I agree that in the context of our relationship with the Father it would be dishonest to pretend there aren't things we want (and He knows anyway!). But in the context of not worshipping happiness as an idol, I think there is a danger in bringing an unhealthy focus on my wants into my relationship with God. Prayer can be an opportunity to relinquish personal desires in the light of the beauty and goodness of God.
My concern is submitting a litany of desires in our prayers becomes an internal mantra of things I need to be happy. As opposed to submitting my whole life to God and His goodness.
Do you think the Lord’s prayer sort of fixes this conundrum? Because we’re supposed to pray “Your Kingdom come, your will be done” before we pray for our needs (daily bread). Like maybe the pattern of the prayer sets up a relinquishing of our desires over to God before we even start praying for our desires?
Yes I think that's the way to think about it. God and His will and also the acknowledgement that He gives us our daily bread, so it's up to Him as the giver to decide what is best for our nourishment.
I appreciate this compilation of thoughts on happiness. I'm in an extended season where a lot of people in my life need a lot of ... me. It is easy to feel overwhelmed and sometimes resentful. BUT! Here's what I've been noticing ... and your post sheds some light on the reason for it: When I sit with my calendar and think about all of the disparate tasks and responsibilities I need to fit into a given day/week, I get anxious and frustrated. However, when I'm actually with the person I'm serving/helping, actually doing the work and/or being fully present, I'm generally happy -- I feel like I'm in the zone. Or we could call it being blessed. To your point, pursuing happiness gets me nowhere, but by doing what I feel I'm called to do, happiness and contentment settle in around me.
First, I like your chart of the four errors Christians tend to make around "happiness." Nicely done.
Second, John Piper's sentence "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him" literally changed the trajectory of my life. He also explained it by tweaking Westminster - "The chief end of man is to glory God BY enjoying Him forever."
I think this is a foundational truth to reality. And I have yet to find a more biblically faithful way to explain what happiness is in the Christian life.
Looking forward to your future articles on this topic.
In all seriousness, great essay. I really resonated with your point of how discontentment breeds when happiness becomes the norm not the exception. When I was an intern, I worked with an older engineer who once said to me “We need another war. You kids don’t know what it means to have to suffer.” I wrote him off as a lunatic, but I think there’s a kernel of truth to his point. You can’t experience the high if you don’t know the low, and so I read your essay as a case for experiencing all emotions as they come, rather than trying to escape some to get to others.
I’m really fascinated by your use of rhetoric. Almost every time I read an article you write, I find something I really want to argue with in the middle, but then I’m delighted by something else you write and by the end I find myself asking more questions…in a good way.
I've always appreciated Comer's notion that the American value of "the pursuit of happiness" was not entirely true. He goes on to say something along the lines that happiness cannot actually be pursued; we can only pursue objects, peoples, things, in order to become happy.
Gooch- Good write. I’m reminded of the passage. “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.”
Great essay! Looking forward to the next parts. I especially appreciate the quote from St. Therese as well as the notion of "Functional Atheism", definitely something to look into more
One of the most powerful stories I have read was in the biography of Father Arseny, a survivor of the Russian Gulag during Communist times. After he was released from prison, he became a spiritual father to many. On woman came to him a number of times in a very depressed state. In a period of one year, her mother-in-law died, her husband died, her son went off to college, and her daughter married. She went from living in the midst of 4 people she deeply cared for to being completely alone. Father Arseny listened to her a few times and then he treated her with some medicinal tough love. He told her to get down her knees every morning and pray to the Mother of God and then to go knock on her neighbors doors and ask them if they needed help with anything, and then to do whatever it was that they need. She followed his prescription and it healed her sorrow and despair. I think often the most help thing for all of us is to simple get outside of ourselves.
Don't sell yourself short! Making someone think deep philosophical/theological thoughts on the meaning of happiness while they are listening to an abstract/sarcastic stream of conciousness word jumble set to catchy music is nothing to be ashamed of!
Getting caught up on your essays this morning haha! Great post! And well done on your charts... I'm super impressed. And great work on naming the idolatry piece to it all.
Jonathan Pennington says a better word for the "Blesseds" (or markarios) in the Sermon on the Mount is happiness OR flourishing...! Which is so good and so profound! "Happy/flourishing are those who are poor in spirit... "Happy/flourishing are those who are meek..." His work was hugely pivotal for me as I had to preach a five sermon series at a conference on what it means to "pursue happiness" in the good life a few years back. Thought you'd like him! https://ps.edu/what-is-the-good-life-jonathan-pennington/
*makarios* lol oops my bad I can hear the eyes of my prof rolling out of his head
Yay! Pennington's great. And a St. Andrews alum (also, are you at Aberdeen?!?! I just saw that in your bio! I have many good folks I love there who are getting/just got their PhDs)
And great ppl to learn from! Brock, John Swinton, and so many others. If it gets to the point where you are seriously looking at moving, hmu bc I have lots of resourcing on doing the move as an American and have some dear friends living in Aberdeen who just finished PhD route who can help with locating housing (which can be tricky).
Ahhh I really want to!!! I hope we can. It sounds so amazing. It’s just tough because we have both sides of our family right next to us in Kalamazoo, MI. But I’m really hoping we can just go for it! And I will definitely hit you up if we do!! That would be amazing to have some help!
I think a big part of Jesus’ plan to build a global family (organized as networked communities of church families) includes the idea that these church families enjoy their lives together. There’s a lot of Ecclesiastes woven into His plan. Recognize limitations, acknowledge difficulty, but enjoy what you have.
Thanks Griffin, a great essay. I was especially struck by 'personal happiness as an idol', as it explains my discomfort at the amount of prayers I hear by people for things that they want to happen. Even if they are very good things (according to my analysis of good and bad), I wish there was more praying for God's will to be done in our lives, not for the statisfaction of our happiness. What do you think, am I off on the wrong track?
I have also spent a good amount of time dwelling on the difference between what we call 'happiness' and 'joy' and 'contentment'. The connotation of words changes over time, and I feel like happiness seems quite fleeting and emotional compared with those who are content and/or joyful.
Hmmm. I think I get what you're saying in the first part, but I think we should also let all our request be made known to God - even if they seem silly and superfluous. Because, I think, the entire nature of prayer is somewhat silly and superfluous since God "knows what we need before we ask Him" (Matt. 6). So even though it is wiser and ultimately better to prayer that His kingdom would come and will be done, I don't ever want to shy away from asking for the dumb small things or things I really think that I want because I don't want to sacrifice that relationality or put on a front during prayer as if I want to pretend that I don't want the things that I want.
Also, David Brooks has some exceptional points about the difference between happiness and joy in the first section of The Second Mountain!
Glad you liked the article :)
Yes, I agree that in the context of our relationship with the Father it would be dishonest to pretend there aren't things we want (and He knows anyway!). But in the context of not worshipping happiness as an idol, I think there is a danger in bringing an unhealthy focus on my wants into my relationship with God. Prayer can be an opportunity to relinquish personal desires in the light of the beauty and goodness of God.
My concern is submitting a litany of desires in our prayers becomes an internal mantra of things I need to be happy. As opposed to submitting my whole life to God and His goodness.
What do you think?
ah okay now I see what you mean.
Do you think the Lord’s prayer sort of fixes this conundrum? Because we’re supposed to pray “Your Kingdom come, your will be done” before we pray for our needs (daily bread). Like maybe the pattern of the prayer sets up a relinquishing of our desires over to God before we even start praying for our desires?
Yes I think that's the way to think about it. God and His will and also the acknowledgement that He gives us our daily bread, so it's up to Him as the giver to decide what is best for our nourishment.
I appreciate this compilation of thoughts on happiness. I'm in an extended season where a lot of people in my life need a lot of ... me. It is easy to feel overwhelmed and sometimes resentful. BUT! Here's what I've been noticing ... and your post sheds some light on the reason for it: When I sit with my calendar and think about all of the disparate tasks and responsibilities I need to fit into a given day/week, I get anxious and frustrated. However, when I'm actually with the person I'm serving/helping, actually doing the work and/or being fully present, I'm generally happy -- I feel like I'm in the zone. Or we could call it being blessed. To your point, pursuing happiness gets me nowhere, but by doing what I feel I'm called to do, happiness and contentment settle in around me.
Amen! That's beautiful. Thanks for sharing :)
First, I like your chart of the four errors Christians tend to make around "happiness." Nicely done.
Second, John Piper's sentence "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him" literally changed the trajectory of my life. He also explained it by tweaking Westminster - "The chief end of man is to glory God BY enjoying Him forever."
I think this is a foundational truth to reality. And I have yet to find a more biblically faithful way to explain what happiness is in the Christian life.
Looking forward to your future articles on this topic.
Thanks so much!!
Nicely done this is just really accessible language. Brilliant and concise explanations of what can be complex topics. Thanks for this.
thanks!!
BRB going to get most of this tattooed on my arm.
In all seriousness, great essay. I really resonated with your point of how discontentment breeds when happiness becomes the norm not the exception. When I was an intern, I worked with an older engineer who once said to me “We need another war. You kids don’t know what it means to have to suffer.” I wrote him off as a lunatic, but I think there’s a kernel of truth to his point. You can’t experience the high if you don’t know the low, and so I read your essay as a case for experiencing all emotions as they come, rather than trying to escape some to get to others.
Thought provoking as always.
I’m really fascinated by your use of rhetoric. Almost every time I read an article you write, I find something I really want to argue with in the middle, but then I’m delighted by something else you write and by the end I find myself asking more questions…in a good way.
hahaha well I’m happy it ends good at least?? always open to any push back though because I greatly admire your opinion !
I've always appreciated Comer's notion that the American value of "the pursuit of happiness" was not entirely true. He goes on to say something along the lines that happiness cannot actually be pursued; we can only pursue objects, peoples, things, in order to become happy.
Thanks for the thoughts here, Griffin!
Love that! and glad you liked it!
Amen and amen. Resonates with everything I've learned about happiness. Super well done. Going to try remembering it for a good while. Thank you.
glad you liked it!!
Gooch- Good write. I’m reminded of the passage. “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.”
Philippians 4:11-12 KJV
Amen! Love that.
Great essay! Looking forward to the next parts. I especially appreciate the quote from St. Therese as well as the notion of "Functional Atheism", definitely something to look into more
Glad you liked it!!
Thanks for the fresh perspective.
thanks so much!
One of the most powerful stories I have read was in the biography of Father Arseny, a survivor of the Russian Gulag during Communist times. After he was released from prison, he became a spiritual father to many. On woman came to him a number of times in a very depressed state. In a period of one year, her mother-in-law died, her husband died, her son went off to college, and her daughter married. She went from living in the midst of 4 people she deeply cared for to being completely alone. Father Arseny listened to her a few times and then he treated her with some medicinal tough love. He told her to get down her knees every morning and pray to the Mother of God and then to go knock on her neighbors doors and ask them if they needed help with anything, and then to do whatever it was that they need. She followed his prescription and it healed her sorrow and despair. I think often the most help thing for all of us is to simple get outside of ourselves.
It makes me think...
Of a lot of things...
But of those things...
The difference between Buzz's and Woody's idea of where to aim for at the end of Toy Story.
And also this...
Wheat for my bread
Fermentation for fun
Hydrogen, oxygen
And just enough sun
That paints the harvest moon
And leaves me undone
But can I trust you made what I need?
Blood cells stitching wounds
The human mind to tell
Which herbs growing up, can heal ourselves as well
Then at the fire can spin a colorful tale
But can I trust you made what I need?
The construction of the muscles to form Uncle Joe's laugh
The feeling like satin on the small of her back
The pumpkins in the pie, one taste and all the memories flash.
But can I trust you made what I need?
The steel for our towers
The flowers of spring
The logic of philosophers
The feelings we sing
And the somethings from nothing that make everything.
How do I trust you made what I need
When of all these things none can comfort me?
Then you say
Like a dress without your girl inside
I made everything so every joy reminds
I didn't make what you need
It's been me this whole time.
Also Lennon... "Happiness is a warm gun". (Now everytime I hear that song I will think of this article)
Haha sorry
Don't sell yourself short! Making someone think deep philosophical/theological thoughts on the meaning of happiness while they are listening to an abstract/sarcastic stream of conciousness word jumble set to catchy music is nothing to be ashamed of!
Getting caught up on your essays this morning haha! Great post! And well done on your charts... I'm super impressed. And great work on naming the idolatry piece to it all.
Jonathan Pennington says a better word for the "Blesseds" (or markarios) in the Sermon on the Mount is happiness OR flourishing...! Which is so good and so profound! "Happy/flourishing are those who are poor in spirit... "Happy/flourishing are those who are meek..." His work was hugely pivotal for me as I had to preach a five sermon series at a conference on what it means to "pursue happiness" in the good life a few years back. Thought you'd like him! https://ps.edu/what-is-the-good-life-jonathan-pennington/
Ooo I’ve heard of makarios translated that way but never heard of Jon Pennington! I will definitely check him out thanks!!
*makarios* lol oops my bad I can hear the eyes of my prof rolling out of his head
Yay! Pennington's great. And a St. Andrews alum (also, are you at Aberdeen?!?! I just saw that in your bio! I have many good folks I love there who are getting/just got their PhDs)
Yes I am!! On distance learning for now but I’m hoping to convince my wife to make the move next year!! That’s so cool!
Do it. 100%. You will not regret living in Scotland and we look at it as one of our best experiences we’ve had in almost a decade of marriage!
And great ppl to learn from! Brock, John Swinton, and so many others. If it gets to the point where you are seriously looking at moving, hmu bc I have lots of resourcing on doing the move as an American and have some dear friends living in Aberdeen who just finished PhD route who can help with locating housing (which can be tricky).
Ahhh I really want to!!! I hope we can. It sounds so amazing. It’s just tough because we have both sides of our family right next to us in Kalamazoo, MI. But I’m really hoping we can just go for it! And I will definitely hit you up if we do!! That would be amazing to have some help!
Really enjoyed this essay.
I think a big part of Jesus’ plan to build a global family (organized as networked communities of church families) includes the idea that these church families enjoy their lives together. There’s a lot of Ecclesiastes woven into His plan. Recognize limitations, acknowledge difficulty, but enjoy what you have.
Thanks for your work on this piece.
thanks so much!