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A few weeks ago, Rev. Kim said that we have an ethical responsibility to be happy.
Yes, I believe we have an ethical responsibility to be happy. Especially in these times.
It seems that there are so many unhappy people these days.
Social media algorithms feed off of emotional reactions. Influencers and podcasters tap into primal emotions like fear and anger to build large audiences.
These emotions build audiences but make people less happy. They drive people apart.
In my opinion, the underlying cause of the social and political problems we see today is people’s unhappiness.
The antidote to what’s going on, then, is to be happy.
Happy people will be the ones who resist the tide and change the world.
Nelson Mandela went into jail due to his anger. But over almost thirty years in prison, he learned how to be happy. With that happiness, he inspired change in his country.
Happiness doesn’t mean being naive to what’s happening around you. Happiness is having joy within you despite circumstances around you. With that joy, you find the wisdom to chart the way forward.
In times like these, our job is to fight for happiness.
In today’s passage, St. Paul says this to Timothy:
Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it, but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. (1 Timothy 6:6-8)
Be content with what you have. That is happiness.
That is how Paul himself lived:
Not that I am referring to being in need, for I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. (Philippians 4:11-12)
The original word for contentment in Greek means self-sufficiency. It means happiness that is not dependent on outward things like money, food, people’s praise, or anything else.
It is contentment that is free of attachment to any outside things. That is the contentment that Paul had.
What was that secret to his contentment?
It was his connection with Christ. In God, he had enough.
This past Monday, we had a retreat for pastors and elders in our presbytery.
We divided into smaller groups and shared this question: when did you first feel God’s warmth?
I was with three other pastors, and remarkably, we had very similar stories. We all grew up in church, but each of us first really felt the warmth of God in our middle school years at a retreat. Through prayers, the messages and songs, we felt God’s incredible warmth and presence.
We realized that having this kind of spiritual experience of God during those middle school years is so formative. Maybe that’s why we all became pastors!
I think one reason we had such a powerful experience of God is because we were all poor and faced many difficulties. One pastor took care of her two younger siblings since she was a child, because her parents were always working. Another was a PK, and they often struggled to make ends meet.
Life was hard growing up here as children of immigrants. That’s why the message of God who loves us was so powerful.
After that experience, God was everything to us. Jesus was our joy. Church became our life.
And in church, we experienced so much joy and happiness.
That was the experience for many of us growing up in Canada.
We were all poor. One time: Olive Garden – minestrone soup. Packing into a car. Sports nowadays: all the gear, etc. (no football gloves) Long subway rides to baseball games, soccer practices.
We were poor and faced difficulties, but very happy when we were together.
Being at church, singing praise, listening to messages that God loves us, we were happy.
But as we got older, things began to change.
Paul is addressing a similar situation in his letter to Timothy.
When Paul first preached the gospel, people received it with joy. It was good news to learn of a God who loved them.
And a saviour who died for them.
New communities of faith flourished under Paul’s leadership.
But now, in this letter, he is older and nearing the end of his ministry. Things have changed.
The fervency the people once experienced has diminished. They’ve lost the conviction of their faith. Many people are just going through the motions.
In his letter to Timothy, he has a clear diagnosis for what’s happened: they have allowed bad teachings to infiltrate their minds and their lives.
What was the false teaching?
What you have in God is not enough.
Everyone around them cared about power and wealth. People they worked with. Their neighbours.
An insidious message began to creep into their minds: What you have in God is not enough. You need more than that. You need what everyone around you has.
Doubt began to creep in about the sufficiency of God’s provision.
When doubt creeps in, it begins to separate you from God. That’s what happened when the serpent spoke to Adam and Eve.
God gave them everything to enjoy, except for the fruit of that one tree. They had everything else, but it was not enough. They needed that fruit from the forbidden tree. Doubt crept in, and they hid from God.
The people of Paul’s community began listening to the false teachings around them: You need wealth.
They began to see not what they had, but what they lacked. A voice started saying: “You need what others around you have”.
The false teachings began to stir up desires for wealth and riches. They took them away from God. In the end, they were less happy.
This is the situation that Paul describes:
But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains. (1 Timothy 6:9-10)
The sense that you need what others have is a powerful emotion. It stirs up the deepest recesses of your desire. It is a motivating force that drives you.
But it also becomes fuel that takes control over you. It drives you, but in the end it doesn’t make you happier.
The spiritual masters throughout the ages have recognized the power of this desire to want what others have. When that desire takes over, it can ruin the soul.
I believe this is what happened to many of us who grew up in the church. Faith gave us so much happiness while we were young, but as we entered the world, we listened to the teachings of the world.
You need lots of money. You need a bigger house. You need what other people around you have.
Paul’s instruction to Timothy is this:
But as for you, man of God, flee from all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. (1 Timothy 6:11-12)
Shun the false teachings and messages of this world. Pursue God and find your happiness in him.
Take hold of the eternal life as the source of your happiness. Fight for your happiness with faith.
Happiness and contentment come from God. That is the secret that Paul discovered.
In Christ, he was content whatever the circumstances or situation. He had faith in God’s provision.
You have an ethical duty to be happy. To your family, your friends, this world and most importantly, to yourself.
Happiness is a fight. You need to fight everyday for your happiness. Everyday, you must fight the false teaching that you don’t have enough.
Cling to God and find your joy in him.
I want to give you a few tools for this fight.
First: 1. Be content with what God has given you.
What you have now is enough.
If you have a lot, then enjoy it – God has provided it for you. If God feels that you need more, God will provide more. But for today, it is enough.
It doesn’t mean we just stay still – I am always striving to deepen faith in our church, there is always more to do.
But I am content with what God has given me today.
Everyday, say a prayer of thanksgiving for God’s provision. Be content in God’s goodness.
Second: 2. Counter false teaching with the right teaching.
God has given us a wonderful gift that is filled with truth and good teaching – the Bible. That is why we study the Bible as the main activity in our ministry.
Paul says this to Timothy about Scripture:
All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the person of God may be proficient, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
Everyday, read the Bible. During the YA Relationship Seminar, Peter Jang told me he reads a chapter a day.
We also have a wonderful resource: Inner Voice. Rev. Kim emails a daily scripture passage and reflection. You can sign up on our website if you haven’t already.
Be connected with God’s truth through the Scripture. Meditate on it. Let your mind be renewed by Scripture.
God has given us the greatest blessing to be connected with God and receive the right teaching: worship in church.
In worship, we lift our souls to God in praise. Our hearts and souls are satisfied as they are reconnected with God.
We receive the teaching of God from Scripture through the sermon. We are ready to go back into the world with renewed minds and hearts.
Worship should be the most important part of our week. An unshakeable priority. I believe it is that important for your happiness.
And finally (third): everyday, 3. Share what you have.
Paul instructs Timothy to teach and command his followers this, and this is the message for us too:
As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches but rather on God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life. (1 Timothy 6:17-19)
Set all your hopes on God – not on your money.
Whatever you have, share it. Whether it’s a little or a lot, share it.
Be generous.
This the practice that will truly lead you to happiness.
If you trust that God will provide all your needs, you can share freely what God has given you. When you believe that God has given you enough, then you can share it.
If you have a lot, share a lot. If you have a little, share what little you have.
Be content with everything God has given you – it is enough. Resist false teaching with the true teaching from God’s Word. Share what you have.
Practice these things everyday. Everyday, fight for your happiness with faith.
Your life will become happier, and you will bear good fruits.
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