Whoa...totally just opened a can of worms here didn't I? YIKES... I'm not really asking you this question for my own understanding, rather to write a bit about what is going on inside my own mind. I have this question settled in my own heart...and whether someone agrees with me or not isn't really the point...it doesn't change what I believe God says as Truth, but it does cause some to really dig deep and ponder our purpose here...so, beware for a rather lengthy "discussion" in which I'd love to hear your input as well.
If I were to be honest, I FEEL sometimes that God doesn't really care about my happiness, but he sure does care about the happiness of others...those for which everything seems to go "right"...it sure feels like He was THEM to be happy...and going down that road of thinking leads to heartache and anger and distrust...believe me...I've been there! Now, I know I can find verses about how He desires for us to have life and have it abundantly and I don't doubt it...I'm just concentrating on this "happy" stuff and what it means...so bare with me...
So, yesterday, our pastor gave a talk and brought up a different scenario concerning "happiness"...I've heard happiness compared to "joy"...for example, we can be joyful and not happy...and although according to certain semantics and definitions, etc that can be true...from the way I define Joy...I'm telling you...in the midst of some pretty awful things happening, I wouldn't be able to admit that I necessarily have JOY...but, I DO choose something else...and I hadn't heard it described this way before...especially in relationships and decision making...
Pastor's talk wasn't really about God making us happy...in fact, his message was about relationships with others...even into the realms of sexuality, etc...it was a heavy talk given in compassion and extreme humility...
It really got me thinking though...here are his main points:
4 axioms that surround relationships
1)God creates everything to live Relationally
Think about it...we are all interdependent...and No, I"m not going to get all hippie, save the whales here...but, we ARE...the oceans depend on the moon, the food cycle, we were made to relate to one another...
2) Love is the default value in God's relational system
3) Happiness is the driving value in our culture
4) Successful decision making involves asking two guiding principles: 1-will this honor God? 2-will this be best for the other person.
I'm not trying to rewrite his sermon by any means, I just really appreciated what he had to say and though I see a lot of value in this for others (you'll see what I mean in a minute) it was also really pertinent to me and the decisions I make daily.
First of all he compares choosing LOVE rather than Happiness... Love in the sense that I choose a relationship with God over "what's in it for me"...which is WHOA wayyyy beyond today's society...in our constitution it says we have the right to the pursuit of happiness. I think it's innate in us to pursue what makes us feel good, makes us feel "happy"...
He referenced the verses in I Cor. 6:9-11...it says: Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God...and that is what some of you were...but you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Whew...lots of stuff in there...Pastor Terry went on to discuss the covenant God set up with his people...and the covenant he set up for his people in marriage...he talked about a sexual junk drawer where all the other "stuff" that doesn't fit in the covenant of marriage, would be thrown...
as I said, heavy talk yesterday...it made my heart go out to those that believe that they have been created with certain urges toward the same sex...I don't doubt those feelings...but I do know that we can choose to honor God with our thoughts and actions and choose LOVE in a relationship with him rather than what we feel will make us happy. And MAN, that's hard...if I was told that my feelings that I have towards my husband were wrong and I couldn't act on them...holy cow, I'd have some pretty difficult days living moment by moment having to choose what honors God...
There are times that I have to choose to take God's epidural in order to do what honors him AND what is best for the other person, even when I KNOW it would make me happy to just tell them off and to get out of my life for good!
All in all, it was a good message yesterday and I appreciate the word pictures associated with it. I often think it's my "right" to have things my way, to make me and my family happy...I need to remember that that isn't what I was created for...I was created for a relationship with Him...and though, I may not be all happy-feely when I need to choose His way over my gut instincts...the more I'm learning about Him (studying the book of John right now) the more I find that choosing love over happy is worth it!
