A selfish desire for happiness is
as sinful as any other selfish desire. Its root is in the flesh which can never
have any standing before God. "The carnal mind is enmity against God; for
it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be" (Rom. 8:7).

People are coming more and more
to excuse every sort of wrongdoing on the grounds that they are "just
trying to secure a little happiness." Before she will give her con-sent to
marriage, the modern young lady may ask outright whether or not the man "can
make me happy," instead of wondering selflessly whether she can bring
happiness to her life partner. The lovelorn columns of the newspapers are wet
with the self-pitying tears of persons who write to inquire how they can
"preserve their happiness." The psychiatrists of the land are getting
fat off the increasing numbers who seek professional aid in their all-absorbing
search for happiness. It is not uncommon for crimes to be committed against
persons who do nothing worse than jeopardize someone’s happiness.

That is the hedonistic philosophy
of old Grecian days misunderstood and applied to everyday living in the
twentieth century. It destroys all nobility of character and makes milksops of
all who consciously or unconsciously adopt it; but it has become quite the
popular creed of the masses. That we are born to be happy is scarcely
questioned by anyone. No one bothers to prove that fallen men have any moral
right to happiness, or that they are in the long run any better off happy. The
only question before the house is how to get the most happiness out of life.
Almost all popular books and plays assume that personal happiness is the
legitimate end of the dramatic human struggle.

Now I submit that the whole
hectic scramble after happiness is as much an evil as is the scramble after
money or fame or success. It springs out of a vast misunderstanding of
ourselves and of our true moral state. The man who really knows himself can
never believe in his right to be happy. A little glimpse of his own heart will
disillusion him instantly so that he is more likely to turn on himself and own
that God’s sentence against him is truly just. The doctrine of man’s
inalienable right to happiness is anti-God and anti-Christ, and its wide
acceptance by society tells us a lot about that same society.

The effect of this modern
hedonism is felt also among the people of God. The gospel is too often
presented as a means toward happiness, peace of mind, or security. There are
even those who use the Bible to "relax" them, as if it were a drug.

How far wrong all this is will be
discovered easily by the simple act of reading the New Testament through once
with meditation. There the emphasis is not upon happiness but upon holiness.
God is more concerned with the state of people’s hearts than with the state of
their feelings. Undoubtedly the will of God brings final happiness to those who
obey, but the most important matter is not how happy we are but how holy. The
soldier does not seek to be happy in the field; he seeks rather to get the fighting
over with, to win the war, and get back home to his loved ones. There he may
enjoy himself to the full; but while the war is on his most pressing job is to
be a good soldier, to acquit himself like a man, regardless of how he feels.

The childish clamor after
happiness can become a real snare. One may easily deceive himself by
cultivating a religious joy without a correspondingly righteous life. No man
should desire to be happy who is not at the same time holy. He should spend his
efforts in seeking to know and do the will of God, leaving to Christ the matter
of how happy he shall be.

For those who take this whole
thing seriously, I have a suggestion:Go to God and have an understanding
between yourselves. Tell Him that it is your desire to be holy at any cost and
then ask Him never to give you more happiness than holiness. When your holiness
becomes tarnished, let your joy become dim. And ask Him to make you holy
whether you are happy or not. Be assured that in the end you will be as happy
as you are holy; but for the time being let your whole ambition be to serve God
and be Christlike.

If we dare to take a stand like
that we may expect to know a new degree of inward purification. And, God being
who He is, we are more than likely to know a new degree of happiness as well,
but a happiness that springs out of a more intimate fellowship with God, a
happiness that is elevated and unselfish and free from the pollutions of the
flesh.

(From The Evangelist, Vol. 51,
published by Evangelical Tract Distributors.)

FRAGMENT  "If you suffer for
righteousness’ sake, happy are you" (1 Pet. 3:14). "Rejoice, inasmuch
as you are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when His glory shall be
revealed, you may be glad also with exceeding joy. If you are reproached for
the name of Christ, happy are you" (1 Pet. 4:13,14).

FRAGMENT  The Lord can and will
have full sway in your heart and life when you give Him the preeminence. He
never will share the throne of your heart with any idol. All "idols..
.shall be moved at His presence" (Isa. 19:1). T. F. Mayer