Articles
God Wants Me To Be Happy
"I just believe God wants me to be happy." This sentiment is usually expressed in the context of rejecting some Bible teaching that is against the person’s beliefs or practices. For example: When someone finds out that their marriage is unapproved by God because of a previous unlawful divorce, they may reject the Scriptures and maintain the marriage because “God wants me to be happy.”
First, let’s acknowledge that God does want us to be happy. He wants us to be materially supplied, emotionally stable, loved and living with true purpose. God wants us to be healthy and hearty in every righteous way.
But problems arise when we look into this a little more deeply. “Happy” is often code for “doing what I want to do.” The person is in effect saying, “This will make me happy; this is what I want to do, so I expect God to approve of it.” This is nothing more than thinly veiled selfishness.
Secondly, what we think will make us happy is not always what God says will make us happy. God’s laws and further revelations of truth are the true source of well-being:
The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes … The judgments of the lord are true and righteous altogether; More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold … Moreover by them Your servant is warned, And in keeping them there is great reward. (Psalm 19:7-11)
Satan uses our overly inflated self-estimate – our desires and pride – to deceive us into thinking that we know better than God. So, if God says we should not lie (Eph. 4:25) but we find ourselves in a bit of a jam, it is easy to think that telling the truth is not the best choice. We may even reason, “God not only wants me to be happy, He wants (Bob or Mary) to be happy, and if I tell the truth in this situation we’re all going to be very unhappy. So lying is better.”
Pop-psychology experts advise us to lie in order to avoid hurting others. What they don’t consider is that pain caused by truth can be remedial. The goal is not merely to avoid hurting others; the goal is to help others become better. All the great prophets had this trait: They told the truth to Israel even at the risk – or cost – of their own lives.
Further, experts avoid the subject of the damage done when someone finds out that we have lied to them. This is often more hurtful than the original truth, for it suggests that we didn’t have enough confidence in them to handle the truth.
Also, people who say “God wants me to be happy” are only thinking about the here and now. They cannot bear the unpleasantness of doing God’s will. But staying in a sinful condition will never lead to ultimate happiness. The spiritually mature person will accept that doing right, while perhaps painful in the short term, is always the best course in the end.
How easy it would have been for Moses to reason: “There’s no way I’m ‘coming out’ as a Hebrew. God wants me to be happy! And happiness is being in Pharaoh’s household, having an abundance of possessions, enjoying every pleasure imaginable, reveling in every opportunity that comes with royal privilege and power.” But Moses knew that was not where true happiness was to be found. He chose to “defect” and suffer with God’s people “esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward” (Heb. 11:26).
Was Moses happier as an Egyptian or a Jew? In Pharaoh’s palace or the wilderness? The hard way is sometimes the happier way because it is the right way.
