Because You Deserve to Be Happy

That was the “subject” on my email from Ulta yesterday morning. 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 the greatest goal in life? I loved Bobby Ferrin’s upbeat, reggae song, “Don’t Worry. Be Happy”. It motivated us to "Be Happy!"

We are hardwired to pursue happiness, so we pursue it, after all, as Ulta’s advertising campaign says: We 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."

Yesterday morning, my daughter and I were having one of our phone pep talks. We need to record some of those talks because I think we could solve many of the world’s problems if the world would listen to us. We discussed the lack of morality in our world because the world thinks “I deserve happiness, at all costs!” We also talked about how well we sleep at night because of a clear conscience and how happy we are to wake up to freedom from regret of what we did yesterday.

The simple truth is: God REALLY 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. This is the God of the Bible. And, no matter what you’ve heard, He’s a joyful and happy God Himself, and He loves nothing more than to make those of us who are chasing happiness to be happy.

This may sound ultra-spiritual but at the heart of Christianity, is the key to happiness. It is happiness through holiness. I can hear some saying now, “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

It may appear that being a devoted follower of Christ means we’re floating two inches off the ground if we’re living obediently to His words. But God is infinitely happy Himself and we were made in His image, so “happy” should be our way of life; not because we “deserved it”, but because we are God’s kids so 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.

This way of life allows us to enjoy the world as it is. The gift of physical enjoyment and pleasure comes from Him, not an inebriated version of ourselves or an X-rated movie or one-night-stand. 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.

Life is Good. Life is Fun.

It's an awesome Sunday when you start with a spectacular view of The Olympic Mts to the West, Mt Rainier to the South and then having an amazing time of praising and worshipping God, seeing over 15 people baptized at The City Church in Kirkland, WA -- home church for many of the Seattle Seahawks' players.  

In fact, Pastor Judah Smith is the Chaplain for the team and directs the chapel service every Saturday night for the players. So, of course, seeing a sea of "the faithful" wearing Seahawks jerseys is a norm at City Church. And, it's quite common to hear prayers for the Seahawks to win their next game.

I read an ESPN interview of Russell Wilson from December 24th, 2015 that said "On off-game Sundays, Russell Wilson (Seahawks' quarterback) is at the Kirkland campus on Sunday mornings -- he doesn't live far from the church. He stands in the front row, sings and raises his hands to the heavens. He doesn't stand out too much, because even though he's a quarterback with great gifts, he's short. Wilson was drafted in 2012, 12th in the third round, part of a Seahawks class that one analyst scored a C and another an F. This was fine with Wilson. He doesn't mind that no one saw him coming. It plays well into his narrative that he was chosen for this, that God sent the world a diminutive man at 5-foot-10, that he was sent with an undeniable cannon of an arm to make the world take notice."

I love that. And, I love the testimonies of other players who have given their lives to Christ and are passionate about being His witness. Of course, I'm a fan of anyone who proclaims Christ and lives an exemplary life of Him, but to see high profile athletes making a statement of faith as role models that our world so needs, is a bonus. In a city that passionately loves their home team, it's easy to get caught up in the excitement and fanfare.  

The Seahawks have been my kids' team since they moved here eight years ago. And, I might add, it's been a great ride for them -- year before last, as the Super Bowl champs and last year defending champs but lost to the New England Patriots.

How fun it was yesterday to host our own Seahawks Party. Great friends, great pizza, yummy snacks, but best of all.....great game (they won big time)!

So what's the big deal? It's just a team, it's just a season, it's just a time for letting off some pent-up energy to cheer, celebrate and be passionate about something that really doesn't matter -- in the light of eternity. But even so, I believe God enjoys seeing His kids enjoy LIFE. Some folks think that being a Christian is the same as saying the party's over, that to be spiritual is to be miserable. Unfortunately, there are many people who don't want to let God into their lives because they fear God will make them give up anything that is fun. The truth is God doesn't want us to live without fun. The apostle Matthew spent three years with Jesus and he wrote, "Jesus came, enjoying life" (Matthew 11:19).

As Christians, we can enjoy life because our conscious is clear. We can enjoy life because we are secure within God's love. We can have fun, laughing in church and laughing at ourselves.

God "richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment" (1 Timothy 6:17).

God wants us to enjoy life.....after all "Jesus came to give us life and life more abundantly!" John 10:10