THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

John Robinson

One of the most common obstacles to acquiring holiness is the pursuit of
happiness. It’s not that the two are mutually exclusive, because all good things
come from Yahvah. I have heard people ask, “it’s not wrong to have a little bit of
fun is it? “ My answer is “why would you settle for a little bit?” In His presence is
the fullness of joy, and at his right hand there are pleasures for evermore. (Psalm
16) He has rivers of pleasure stored up for those who fear Him, but most people
settle for the dregs that the world has to offer.
Chasing rainbows can be very exciting but it usually ends in frustration because
you never find the pot of gold. However when you acquire holiness you discover
that the pot of gold is within you and you don’t even have to ascend to heaven to
obtain it. Dt. 30:12‐14. The kingdom of Yah is within you, if you can believe it.
When His will is done on earth happiness is the product. Even the angels rejoice
when one sinner repents.
The pursuit of happiness is what led to the sexual revolution of the 1960’s. The
abortion industry gives the illusion of providing happiness for mothers and fathers
who have unwanted pregnancies. Homosexual marriage rights are all about the
happiness of people who have unnatural proclivities. People who love money are
driven by a desire to be happy but eventually find themselves pierced through with
many sorrows,
Today providing happiness has become a multi‐billion dollar enterprise, because
people are too inept to entertain themselves. Imagine if all recreational businesses
were shut down tomorrow. To name a few, professional sports, the gambling
industry, the movie industry, the music industry, and water sports industry. If any
one of these things ceased to exist there would be financial and social repercussions
that would be overwhelming. But I submit to you that all of these things will come
to a halt before Yahshua’s return and then when the kingdom is established, people
will stop spending their “money on that which is not bread” but instead will “delight
themselves in fatness”, and will “go out with joy and be led forth in peace.” Isaiah 55
So where did this concept of the “pursuit of happiness” come from anyway? Let’s
start with a man named Plato. He was a famous Greek philosopher who is credited
with influencing our culture and religion of today. He was a student of Socrates
and an instructor of Aristotle, two other Greek intellectuals. Aristotle tutored
Alexander the Great as a young boy, who went on to establish the Greek empire.
Alexander went to great lengths to homogenize, Hellenize and humanize the known
world of his day. His basic mindset was to spread the Greek language and culture
throughout the lands that he conquered. These concepts plus his idea of a common
currency are reminiscent of modern day efforts to establish a one world
government. It was during this time that the Torah was translated into Greek which
was a great concern to many Rabbi’s because of the inevitable loss of meaning in the
process of translation.
These famous Greek scholars were never directly mentioned by Yahshua or his
apostles in the scriptures that we have, but Paul did speak despairingly of the fact
that Greek’s seek after wisdom and he said that the wisdom of this world is
foolishness to Yahvah.
However some Christian authors such as Augustine, spoke highly of Plato and his
philosophies. Many of these philosophies were carried on by people like John
Locke, Francis Bacon, and Voltaire who all influenced Thomas Paine, Benjamin
Franklin and Thomas Jefferson who incorporated a more “modern” version of these
ideas into our new government.
In one of Thomas Paine’s books he mentions the rights of “life, liberty and
property” which was later changed to “life liberty and the pursuit of happiness”
because the rest of the founding fathers were not sure that everyone was entitled to
property.
People like Viktor Frankl and Corrie Ten Boom proved that it’s possible to “pursue
happiness” even in a concentration camp.
The original concept of the philosophers was that living a moral life would result in
happiness, but what is missing in this discussion is the definition of that morality
and the empowerment to achieve it.
I am sure that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were very happy when they
found themselves unharmed by the fiery furnace, but they could not have predicted
how that happiness would materialize. They may have suffered many years of
difficulty while living in captivity, and were fully prepared to die in the flames if
need be.
The thing to remember is that our holiness is more important than our happiness
and sorrow is better than laughter because out of sadness the heart is made
stronger.
There is always something to be grateful for. If someone pulls in front of me on
the highway and I have to slam on my brakes, I can be glad that we did not have a
collision. If we have a mild collision I can rejoice that I was not injured. If I were to
sustain an injury I can be glad that I was not mortally wounded. If I were mortally
wounded I could use my last breath to rejoice that I am going to meet my Savior.
If you are being persecuted for righteousness sake then you can be happy and
rejoice, or you can whine and complain and file a lawsuit. It’s your choice.