Does God really want us to be happy?

[Jessup]

Okay, I know I’ll probably get hated on for this, but sometimes I wonder if God really cares about our happiness. Not because he is a vengeful or mean God, but because he’d rather have us serve him. For example, I truly believe some people are happy being drug abusers or drunks or having promiscuous sex or any number of evil things, and would be miserable if they weren’t doing those things. Anyway, in that case wouldn’t God rather have a person be miserable, yet live a holy life in spite of the struggle with sin? I sometimes wonder this since as of now I am an unemployed 23 year old who graduated in may and nothing seems to be going right for me. Maybe God wants me to be sad so I can find my way to serve him in spite of my difficulties.

So what are your thoughts? Don’t be shy

Your 23, you still have a lot of years a head of you. I’m 33 struggling in school,(UCF) for nearly a decade, wondering why God hates me so much. I will tell you to be happy, you have an education. your very blessed to have been allowed to study and not sent off to work. What did you get your degree in ? Was it your passion or strictly a money maker?
Be happy you didn’t spend your life getting high for the last 10 years melting your brain from middle school forth.
Hope that’s some insight,
Cheers!

 

[fhansen]

Okay, I know I’ll probably get hated on for this, but sometimes I wonder if God really cares about our happiness. Not because he is a vengeful or mean God, but because he’d rather have us serve him. For example, I truly believe some people are happy being drug abusers or drunks or having promiscuous sex or any number of evil things, and would be miserable if they weren’t doing those things. Anyway, in that case wouldn’t God rather have a person be miserable, yet live a holy life in spite of the struggle with sin? I sometimes wonder this since as of now I am an unemployed 23 year old who graduated in may and nothing seems to be going right for me. Maybe God wants me to be sad so I can find my way to serve him in spite of my difficulties.

So what are your thoughts? Don’t be shy

The unhappiness that already exists in this world is the result of man being distanced from God-and preferring things that way whether or not he knows it. This world is a reprieve, so to speak, or a test, to see if man will prefer the pigsty over home, where the Father waits.

Here we can experiment, we can see if we prefer ‘being drug abusers or drunks or having promiscuous sex or any number of evil things’, rape, murder, etc. -or even good things for that matter : music, beauty, pleasure, wealth, power,-whatever this world or creation has to offer, whatever our own wills, our own opinion of the “right” way to live- leads us to. Will we settle for those things or will we become jaded and realize something’s still missing -isn’t there something better? Why am I not satisfied, at least not satisfied for long, until the next fix-or some new fix comes along?

Man thinks God’s holding something out from him-we always have, man mistrusted God at the beginning of human history according to the teachings of our faith. Enmity came from man, not God, while God always had man’s happiness and best interest at heart. When man rebelled against God, he rebelled against nature- his own nature included. Man became divided even with *himself *according to the Catechism. We look for happiness everywhere except at its very source.

Here’re a few paragraphs from the Catechism on happiness:

**27 The desire for God is written in the human heart, because man is created by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw man to himself. Only in God will he find the truth and happiness he never stops searching for:
The dignity of man rests above all on the fact that he is called to communion with God. This invitation to converse with God is addressed to man as soon as he comes into being. For if man exists it is because God has created him through love, and through love continues to hold him in existence. He cannot live fully according to truth unless he freely acknowledges that love and entrusts himself to his creator.

45 Man is made to live in communion with God in whom he finds happiness: When I am completely united to you, there will be no more sorrow or trials; entirely full of you, my life will be complete (St. Augustine, Conf. 10, 28, 39: PL 32, 795}.

1024 This perfect life with the Most Holy Trinity - this communion of life and love with the Trinity, with the Virgin Mary, the angels and all the blessed - is called “heaven.” Heaven is the ultimate end and fulfillment of the deepest human longings, the state of supreme, definitive happiness.

1718 The Beatitudes respond to the natural desire for happiness. This desire is of divine origin: God has placed it in the human heart in order to draw man to the One who alone can fulfill it:
We all want to live happily; in the whole human race there is no one who does not assent to this proposition, even before it is fully articulated.
How is it, then, that I seek you, Lord? Since in seeking you, my God, I seek a happy life, let me seek you so that my soul may live, for my body draws life from my soul and my soul draws life from you.
God alone satisfies.

1723 The beatitude we are promised confronts us with decisive moral choices. It invites us to purify our hearts of bad instincts and to seek the love of God above all else. It teaches us that true happiness is not found in riches or well-being, in human fame or power, or in any human achievement - however beneficial it may be - such as science, technology, and art, or indeed in any creature, but in God alone, the source of every good and of all love:
All bow down before wealth. Wealth is that to which the multitude of men pay an instinctive homage. They measure happiness by wealth; and by wealth they measure respectability. . . . It is a homage resulting from a profound faith . . . that with wealth he may do all things. Wealth is one idol of the day and notoriety is a second. . . . Notoriety, or the making of a noise in the world - it may be called “newspaper fame” - has come to be considered a great good in itself, and a ground of veneration.

2548 Desire for true happiness frees man from his immoderate attachment to the goods of this world so that he can find his fulfillment in the vision and beatitude of God. “The promise [of seeing God] surpasses all beatitude. . . . In Scripture, to see is to possess. . . . Whoever sees God has obtained all the goods of which he can conceive.”**

And from scripture:
**“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him” **1 Cor 2:9

 

[Credo_in_Deum]

Okay, I know I’ll probably get hated on for this, but sometimes I wonder if God really cares about our happiness. Not because he is a vengeful or mean God, but because he’d rather have us serve him. For example, I truly believe some people are happy being drug abusers or drunks or having promiscuous sex or any number of evil things, and would be miserable if they weren’t doing those things. Anyway, in that case wouldn’t God rather have a person be miserable, yet live a holy life in spite of the struggle with sin? I sometimes wonder this since as of now I am an unemployed 23 year old who graduated in may and nothing seems to be going right for me. Maybe God wants me to be sad so I can find my way to serve him in spite of my difficulties.

So what are your thoughts? Don’t be shy

You think those who abuse drugs, sex, and a host of material things are happy doing these things? Obviously their search for happiness in these things is a clear indication they haven’t found it and the fact that they have to do these things over and over again is a clear indication these things do not hold the true and lasting happiness they have been searching for.

Maybe God is trying to show you that true lasting happiness is not found in anything other than Him. Plus let’s consider who the real slave is in this world. Is it the person who is able to give themselves freely everyday out of love to their God? Or is it the person who feels forced to do these things because they feel they can’t live without them even though they can?

 

[djmauck]

Okay, I know I’ll probably get hated on for this, but sometimes I wonder if God really cares about our happiness. Not because he is a vengeful or mean God, but because he’d rather have us serve him. For example, I truly believe some people are happy being drug abusers or drunks or having promiscuous sex or any number of evil things, and would be miserable if they weren’t doing those things. Anyway, in that case wouldn’t God rather have a person be miserable, yet live a holy life in spite of the struggle with sin? I sometimes wonder this since as of now I am an unemployed 23 year old who graduated in may and nothing seems to be going right for me. Maybe God wants me to be sad so I can find my way to serve him in spite of my difficulties.

So what are your thoughts? Don’t be shy

First of all, as a former drunk, I can tell you with utmost certainly that drinking myself into oblivion every day brought me nothing but misery. You’ll find that people who are involved in the behaviors you describe are simply enslaved to their addictions. Except perhaps in the initial stages, they are getting some form of pleasure. Soon it turns into a trap, where you’re miserable doing it but can’t imagine not doing it either. It’s really, really awful.

Christianity has a whole theology of suffering. It was Christ’s suffering and death that bought us redemption. God’s power lies not in removing suffering and making everybody happy all the time, but in taking suffering and transforming it into something holy and powerful. Paul writes in Romans that “we rejoice in our sufferings.” As someone still relatively immature in my faith, I haven’t quite reached this point. But I continue to pray for an increase in faith. One of the fruits of the Spirit is Joy, even in suffering - that’s a fruit I honestly don’t experience that much.

On another note, 1 Peter 4:12-16 says “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; 13 but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. 14 If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15 Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; 16 but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name” (NASB).

So there’s two types of suffering. The first comes from sin, which is not good. However, I believe that struggles and suffering that come from resisting sin and trying to live a holy life despite the problems it might cause, is a type of suffering “as a Christian” that Peter was writing about.

I think it’s also clear from this passage that what God promises is not happiness in this life but ultimately in the next one through the gift of Christ and if we persevere in the faith by His grace. I used to be an atheist, and have struggled with depression my whole life. That didn’t stop when I became a Christian, but what did change was that now, I have hope.

 

[Mahsiah_Waites]

God wants us to be obedient and in love with Him. Sometimes this means being happy, sometimes this means dealing with sadness. It is a fallacy to believe that happiness is the ultimate good in life, or the best goal. That is simply not true!

Our goal as Christians is to find joy in good times and in hard times, to accept our cross willingly and to make sacrifices out of Love…love for ourselves, love for others, and love for God.

St. Paul found joy in his suffering, for example, because he was suffering for God. God wanted him to endure some very difficult things. Does that mean he wanted Paul to be sad? No, he wanted Paul to fulfill a mission. Does that mean he wanted Paul to be happy? Not necessarily…he wanted Paul to do the work set before him. The same is true for all of us. It is our job to find the joy in life, even if that means resisting things that may make us “happy” in a selfish sort of way.

I agree

 

[LorenC]

A lot of great posts in this thread.

I am sorry you are facing unemployment and for so long. I will pray about that.

I’m reminded of Philippians 4:6-9. I needed it too.

 

[Bill_7154]

I"m not sure what God wants for me/us re: happiness, but for myself, I strive to find contentment. Not settling for my current life which is full of struggles, but to be content with what I have (so to some extent being content with my current life, but to also work to better myself and my famlies lot in life and continue to be content).

I think contentment is severely underrated. I am rarely ‘happy’. Very rarely. If I can spend my days with contentment, without worry, anxiety, fear, apprehension, depression, etc, etc… this will be a very good thing for me and my family.
God Bless

 

[JDaniel]

Thanks for the replies. I feel they were all good, but I guess I still struggle because I guess in my life I feel as if suffering is a part of it and I guess maybe I feel i’m getting my suffering now i’ll be rewarded in heaven if I persevere in faith. I guess sometimes it makes me feel better when things don’t go right as they have throughout a lot of my life

Ben:

Take a lesser position. Come at your job search from a non-desperate situation. Also, hide your qualifications on your resumes and applications. Make some money and eat. You and God will find what you ultimately want. Remember, this is Obama’s super-duper economy, so you’re not alone! (Even though that knowledge doesn’t really help. )

Your resume should be a quick listing of Experience and another of Achievements. Then a listing of jobs and school. (All on one page.) You may be overqualified for many jobs in your market. Since you were mostly in school, list some of your best school-related achievements. Just don’t push the degree too much. There will be a better time for that.

Let us know how you do. I will be praying for you.

God bless,
jd

 

[JDaniel]

The unhappiness that already exists in this world is the result of man being distanced from God-and preferring things that way whether or not he knows it. This world is a reprieve, so to speak, or a test, to see if man will prefer the pigsty over home, where the Father waits.

Here we can experiment, we can see if we prefer ‘being drug abusers or drunks or having promiscuous sex or any number of evil things’, rape, murder, etc. -or even good things for that matter : music, beauty, pleasure, wealth, power,-whatever this world or creation has to offer, whatever our own wills, our own opinion of the “right” way to live- leads us to. Will we settle for those things or will we become jaded and realize something’s still missing -isn’t there something better? Why am I not satisfied, at least not satisfied for long, until the next fix-or some new fix comes along?

Man thinks God’s holding something out from him-we always have, man mistrusted God at the beginning of human history according to the teachings of our faith. Enmity came from man, not God, while God always had man’s happiness and best interest at heart. When man rebelled against God, he rebelled against nature- his own nature included. Man became divided even with *himself *according to the Catechism. We look for happiness everywhere except at its very source.

Here’re a few paragraphs from the Catechism on happiness:

**27 The desire for God is written in the human heart, because man is created by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw man to himself. Only in God will he find the truth and happiness he never stops searching for:
The dignity of man rests above all on the fact that he is called to communion with God. This invitation to converse with God is addressed to man as soon as he comes into being. For if man exists it is because God has created him through love, and through love continues to hold him in existence. He cannot live fully according to truth unless he freely acknowledges that love and entrusts himself to his creator.

45 Man is made to live in communion with God in whom he finds happiness: When I am completely united to you, there will be no more sorrow or trials; entirely full of you, my life will be complete (St. Augustine, Conf. 10, 28, 39: PL 32, 795}.

1024 This perfect life with the Most Holy Trinity - this communion of life and love with the Trinity, with the Virgin Mary, the angels and all the blessed - is called “heaven.” Heaven is the ultimate end and fulfillment of the deepest human longings, the state of supreme, definitive happiness.

1718 The Beatitudes respond to the natural desire for happiness. This desire is of divine origin: God has placed it in the human heart in order to draw man to the One who alone can fulfill it:
We all want to live happily; in the whole human race there is no one who does not assent to this proposition, even before it is fully articulated.
How is it, then, that I seek you, Lord? Since in seeking you, my God, I seek a happy life, let me seek you so that my soul may live, for my body draws life from my soul and my soul draws life from you.
God alone satisfies.

1723 The beatitude we are promised confronts us with decisive moral choices. It invites us to purify our hearts of bad instincts and to seek the love of God above all else. It teaches us that true happiness is not found in riches or well-being, in human fame or power, or in any human achievement - however beneficial it may be - such as science, technology, and art, or indeed in any creature, but in God alone, the source of every good and of all love:
All bow down before wealth. Wealth is that to which the multitude of men pay an instinctive homage. They measure happiness by wealth; and by wealth they measure respectability. . . . It is a homage resulting from a profound faith . . . that with wealth he may do all things. Wealth is one idol of the day and notoriety is a second. . . . Notoriety, or the making of a noise in the world - it may be called “newspaper fame” - has come to be considered a great good in itself, and a ground of veneration.

2548 Desire for true happiness frees man from his immoderate attachment to the goods of this world so that he can find his fulfillment in the vision and beatitude of God. “The promise [of seeing God] surpasses all beatitude. . . . In Scripture, to see is to possess. . . . Whoever sees God has obtained all the goods of which he can conceive.”**

And from scripture:
**“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him” **1 Cor 2:9

God bless,
jd

 

[Lost_Sheep]

…sometimes I wonder if God really cares about our happiness.

In my case, I don’t believe he does. Moreover, I sincerely believe God is directing the events in my life away from happiness. And what adds insult to injury, is when I’m told I must worship Him, praise Him, adore Him etc.

Yeah, right.

If He really wants me to be happy He’s going to have to start answering my prayers on my terms. “Ask and you shall receive” and “With God all things are possible.” That’s all the scripture that matters to me; everything else is a waste of ink.

As far as I am concerned, God has reneged on that promise.