The Truth About Happiness

A 2022 report published by The Oracle Corporation titled “The Happiness Report” found the following from a survey of 12,000 respondents:

• 45 percent have not felt true happiness for more than two years.

• 25 percent don’t know, or have forgotten, what it means to be truly happy.

• 88 percent are seeking new experiences to make them smile and laugh—such as prioritizing health, personal connections, and experiences.

• 53 percent wish money could buy happiness; 78 percent would pay a premium to find true happiness.

• 89 percent sought happiness via online shopping during the pandemic; 47 percent said receiving package deliveries made them happy, while 12 percent struggled to remember their online purchases.

Those aren’t promising statistics when it comes to assessing the state of happiness today. It seems that people don’t know what true happiness is or where to find it.

For most people, happiness is defined emotionally. It is equated with laughter, optimism, security, well-being, and the like. The trouble with those definitions is that they are based on circumstances that can easily change. Some circumstances make us happy, and others make us unhappy. To be consistently happy, we need a definition that is not subject to circumstances.

The original Old Testament word for happy or blessed comes from a verb that means “to go straight, to advance, to set right”—especially when it comes to advancing in understanding. The original New Testament word comes from a verb that means “to make large or lengthy.” Those words would seem to have little to do with the modern understanding of happiness.

But that just shows how our modern understanding has been shaped in the wrong way.

These original biblical words suggest happiness comes from advancing in maturity and understanding, from enlarging our spiritual maturity and depth. Those ideas have little to do with circumstances, possessions, or stature in life. Rather, they come from our relationship with God and from growing in the depths of our understanding of who we are in relation to Him, His purposes, and His will.

Happiness comes from advancing in maturity and understanding, from enlarging our spiritual maturity and depth.

One of the areas of life where I have found the greatest joy and happiness is using the wealth that God has entrusted to me to bring blessings to others. I believe that the Abrahamic covenant applies to Christians today. God promised Abraham that he would bless him SO THAT all nations would be blessed through him. The promise was not blessing Abraham so that he could buy bigger houses, go on more luxurious vacations, or live a life of leisure and self-indulgence. No, the blessing was so that all nations would be blessed.

I believe that true happiness and joy are found in how we use God's resources to bless others. Perhaps it is fostering or adopting a child who has no parents. Perhaps it is feeding or buying a present for a family at Christmas time because they do not have resources of their own to bless their children. Maybe it's giving a car to the single mom who cleans houses so that she can have reliable transportation to keep her job. Perhaps it's investing in a sustainable water well that provides safe water to a village in Sierra Leone. Joy can be found in providing a living wage job opportunity for a young woman who escaped prostitution. Trust me, these kinds of investments have brought great joy to my family.

There is a difference between basing happiness on circumstances and possessions— which can be taken away in a moment—and basing happiness on faith and trust in God while using resources to bring blessing and joy to others.

True happiness is based on the promises of God’s Word, humility before Him, and gratitude for all His blessings.