Tuesday, May 25, 2010

"Price check on happiness"

Ok. I haven't written on here for awhile, and I was planning on "easing" back into my blog with something light, but I guess that's just not how I do things. Instead, I decided to talk about the "cost of happiness." Deep-- I know, right?

If you're thinking to yourself, "Duh, you can't buy happiness," then you're on the right track, but that's not really my point. Let me explain: I had a conversation with someone today who told me, "I just want to be happy." Although I didn't share it, a thought popped into my head--"Even happiness can have a pricetag." This thought bothered me a little. Am I really that cynical?

The conclusion I came up with was slightly more uplifting. We live in a world driven by action and reaction, cause and effect. We can't be happy with every situation that life throws our way, so we seek out ways to make our lives better--happier. In some of these cases we find that sacrifices need to be made in order to achieve the happiness that we want. To put it bluntly: if you want to make an omelet you're going to have to break some eggs. That's the kind of cost that I'm talking about here. You can still have your cake and eat it, but you can't always expect to have every single piece. I know I haven't been very uplifting yet, but bear with me.

Prepare for liftoff! Happiness is a wonderful feeling, but we can't expect it to be a constant feeling. God wants for us to be happy, but why does it seem so hard sometimes? Maybe it's because we're trying to "buy" the wrong brand of happiness. Worldly happiness isn't always a bad thing, but we need to read and understand the fine print on the label: "Effects temporary. Re-dose as needed." Eventually after enough "doses" of worldly happiness you're going to need to go pick up some more and, in keeping with my price check analogy, this can become a bit expensive. This is why we can't completely rely on that product to keep us happy. We need the "good stuff!" Luckily God has already provided the solution--and it's free!

True happiness is the joy found in the love our our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, yet even this true happiness came at a price. For our salvation (and true, eternal happiness being the result) God sacrificed His Son on the cross to pay for our sins. With this we were given a source of true happiness and joy that surpasses any kind of happiness that Planet Earth Inc. may try to sell us. This kind of happiness will never run out and we won't have to go looking for more. Best of all, it comes free of charge to us. The debt was paid in full through the death and resurrection of Christ. Here's to days just packed with the true happiness which comes by way of God's love for us!

2 comments:

  1. Amen Nate ! It was great getting to meet you in SLCat LOVLC. Come back and visit again. Godspeed.

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  2. Thank you - words of truth and wisdom

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