We all want to be happy. Yet how do we find it? Is it packaged and on a shelf, ready to be parceled out to whoever needs it?
Scientific studies show us our happiness is determined by three things: genetics, material possessions, and personal choices. Half of whether we’ll be happy or not is determined at birth. Some people are simply luckier than others. Ten percent comes from what we own. It follows that a person with a house and food to eat will be happier than a homeless person, but a mansion and haute cuisine don’t increase happiness over the long term.
The other forty percent is up to us. How do we interact with others to increase our chances of being happy? It comes down to the dopamine in our brains. We get a dose every time our brain cells fire, so the more we do, and in the widest variety of ways possible, the happier we’ll be. The biggest obstacle to happiness? Doing the same thing over and over in exactly the same way.
So why do we attend church each week, sing the same songs, pray the same prayers, and expect God to bring us happiness? That’s forty percent of our chance for happiness lost right there. We need to shake things up. When we do, everything around us will seem to change.
Isaiah 55:13 tells us:
“Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall make a name for the Lord, an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”
Let’s dance a jig to celebrate our happiness that comes from the Lord. More simply, we need to sit in a different pew at church. Change the numbers on our check before we drop it in the offering plate. Greet someone we haven’t spoken to in the past two weeks. Volunteer to fill in as a Sunday school teacher for the next week.
When we use our forty percent wisely, we’ll open our eyes in the mornings to find unexpected happiness there to greet us. It’s ours for the asking. All we need to do is get out of our rut and into the worship of our Almighty God.
We will find our happiness in Jesus through what we choose to do for others.
Copyright © 2015 MyChurchNotes.net
Code: FGO.G.23.15.vp.esv
Originally Posted 11-18-15 in Relationships