A poisonous idea came of age in the 1960s. It is the notion that one’s personal happiness should triumph over all other concerns. Even honor, duty, and integrity. Unfortunately, the church made the terrible mistake of accepting this.
The idea that our happiness is the most important thing is in complete contradiction with what the Bible teaches:
You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! (John 16:33)
All those who want to live a godly life in Jesus Christ will be persecuted. (2 Timothy 3:12)
Endure hardship with us as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 2:3)
Do these passages tell us that happiness should be expected, much less guaranteed? Hardly.
It should be little surprise that our obsession with happiness has twisted our sense of morality. For example, our society has justified abortion and no-fault divorce, and it has done so in the name of freedom and happiness. And why not? If happiness is indeed the most important thing, then how can we force a woman to carry a baby to term if it makes her unhappy? How can we require someone to stay in a marriage and honor their marriage vows if it makes them unhappy?
The church needs to take a strong position that honor, duty, and integrity are far more important than one’s personal happiness. Selfishness, when practiced by a large portion of the populace, has led many societies to ruin. And we have accepted the dangerous idea that selfishness is justified as long as it makes us happy.
Reversing this will not be easy. Many will say that what we are proposing is tyrannical because it would limit a person’s freedom. But the freedom to commit murder (i.e. abortion) is not a virtue. The freedom to commit betrayal (i.e. breaking your marriage vows) is not a virtue either.
This will probably be a tougher sell for women than men because women by their nature become unhappy much more easily. Women are more emotional creatures, and so they tend to sway back and forth between extremes.
It will help to educate women about this and help them understand that happiness is mostly based on one’s level of consciousness (LOC). A person who has a LOC at 200 or higher will mostly experience positive emotions while someone who is below 200 will mostly experience negative ones. Therefore, your individual circumstances are not the main determining factor as to how happy you are. (See the Map of Consciousness)
But happiness should never be your primary concern. Living a life of integrity is far more important.
The idea that our happiness is the most important thing is in complete contradiction with what the Bible teaches:
You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! (John 16:33)
All those who want to live a godly life in Jesus Christ will be persecuted. (2 Timothy 3:12)
Endure hardship with us as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 2:3)
Do these passages tell us that happiness should be expected, much less guaranteed? Hardly.
It should be little surprise that our obsession with happiness has twisted our sense of morality. For example, our society has justified abortion and no-fault divorce, and it has done so in the name of freedom and happiness. And why not? If happiness is indeed the most important thing, then how can we force a woman to carry a baby to term if it makes her unhappy? How can we require someone to stay in a marriage and honor their marriage vows if it makes them unhappy?
The church needs to take a strong position that honor, duty, and integrity are far more important than one’s personal happiness. Selfishness, when practiced by a large portion of the populace, has led many societies to ruin. And we have accepted the dangerous idea that selfishness is justified as long as it makes us happy.
Reversing this will not be easy. Many will say that what we are proposing is tyrannical because it would limit a person’s freedom. But the freedom to commit murder (i.e. abortion) is not a virtue. The freedom to commit betrayal (i.e. breaking your marriage vows) is not a virtue either.
This will probably be a tougher sell for women than men because women by their nature become unhappy much more easily. Women are more emotional creatures, and so they tend to sway back and forth between extremes.
It will help to educate women about this and help them understand that happiness is mostly based on one’s level of consciousness (LOC). A person who has a LOC at 200 or higher will mostly experience positive emotions while someone who is below 200 will mostly experience negative ones. Therefore, your individual circumstances are not the main determining factor as to how happy you are. (See the Map of Consciousness)
But happiness should never be your primary concern. Living a life of integrity is far more important.