Living A Happy Life

Submitted by David Miller
If you insist on saving your life, you will lose it. Only those who throw away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live.
Mark 8:35 LB

There is nothing wrong with wanting to be happy. I don't think anyone should get up in the morning and say, "My goal today is to be a depressed person." It is fine if you want to be happy, but if you are living to be happy, you never will be happy. In fact, you will find the people who chase after happiness are the least happy people around.

God wired the universe so that happiness does not come from status, salary, sex, or success.  We try many different things to make us happy that fall into these categories.  Money, travel, relationships, pets, going to church, work, etc. yet nothing seems to bring us true contentment.  Why is that?  Where does true happiness and contentment come from?  Jesus reminds us where to find true happiness.  Look at what He tells us.  If you insist on saving your life, you will lose it. Only those who throw away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live. (Mark 8:35 LB).   Happiness comes from service. God designed you to be happiest when you are giving your life away. Why? Because he wants you to become like Him. It’s all about love!  To have a happy heart, you have to practice service and generosity every day.  Matthew 20:28 says, “Even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many” (NLT).  Jesus came to serve and give. Those are the two things that will bring more happiness in your life than anything else, and they define what it means to follow Jesus. If you’re not serving, if you’re not giving, then you’re not following Jesus. It’s that simple. 

Here is what it comes down to: if you want to be happy, then seek to be holy, and happiness will come as a byproduct. Seek to be holy. Seek to be like Christ, because God said, "You shall be holy; for I am holy" (Leviticus 11:44). Seek to live wholly for Christ. Seek to be like Christ and live for Christ. And as you live a wholly holy life, you will find that you are a happy person as a result.  If you want to find yourself, then lose yourself. Put God first.

God wired the universe in such a way that the more you give yourself away, the more God gives to you and the more blessed and happier you are. In Philippians 2:17-18, Paul says, “Your faith makes you offer your lives as a sacrifice in serving God. If I have to offer my own blood with your sacrifice, I will be happy and full of joy with all of you. You also should be happy and full of joy with me” (NCV).

Your faith makes you offer your life as a sacrifice and serve God by serving others. Sacrifice and serving are two of the keys to lifelong happiness — generously giving your life away for the sake of the His Kingdom.