You Deserve to be Happy
That was the email “subject” from Ulta. It jumped out at me. That word, “deserve”, says it all. We live in a self-gratification, self-centered, self-entitlement, and selfie world. I get it! We all want to be happy. Isn’t that what most think life should be all about?
We are hardwired to pursue happiness, so we pursue it, after all, as Ulta’s advertising campaign says: You deserve it!” We don’t have to look far to hear prominent cultural voices sing and speak about how much they “deserve” their rights, their happiness, and their pleasure. “We’re all about feeling good; We’re all going to die so let’s live it up without regard to morality, being respectful of others or what the consequences of our actions might be. As long as we’re happy – that’s all that matters.”
The world thinks “I deserve happiness, at all costs!” But, I’ll take this life I live any day — especially when I can fall asleep and sleep well because of a clear conscience. And how happy I am to wake up to freedom from regret of what I did yesterday.
The simple truth is: God does want His kids to be happy, just like you and I want our children to be happy. God made pleasure because He wants us to be happy. He doesn’t want us shivering in a dark corner, frightened, sad and miserable. He sincerely wants happiness in our lives and He wants to flood our days with a joy that the world can’t even begin to know or take away. No matter what you’ve heard, God is a joyful and happy God Himself, and He loves nothing more than to make those of us who are chasing happiness to be happy.
At the heart of Christianity is the key to happiness. It is happiness through holiness. There goes Donna giving us the ‘Jesus Talk’ again. But, I promise you, the way to be happy is found in simple obedience to God and faith in His Son. King David said to God with evident delight AND happiness: “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence, there is the fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Psalm 16:11
Since God is happy and we were made in His image, “happy” should be our way of life; not because we “deserve it”, but because we are God’s kids and it is a part of our DNA. We can’t help ourselves. It’s because of Whose we are. Obedience to our Father is what makes us happy. Pursuing Him is what brings us freedom and joy.
The ability to realize that it’s not that we DESERVE happiness, it’s that our loving and Holy Father God created happiness for us. Our hunger for happiness and pleasure are God-given instincts and when placed in the right order, as the children of our King, we never need to worry because we are on the receiving end of an abundance of His unmerited favor.
Bobby McFerrin had good intentions when he wrote the song, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy!” And, here’s MY “Don’t Worry Be Happy” song: “I sing because I’m HAPPY. I sing because I’m free! For His eyes are on the sparrow and I know He watches me!”