Happiness

For this is what the Lord commanded us to do when he said:

I have made you a light for the nations,

so that my salvation may reach the ends of the earth.’

Acts 13:47

It’s great having good news to share. Making the call, hearing the excitement of friends and family as you announce an engagement, an expected new family member, buying a new home or winning a promotion. It’s an experience of happiness.

Each of us seeks happiness, happiness in our own way, happiness that meets our hopes and dreams. There are broadly two types of happiness, hedonic – which is the experience or state of pleasure, and eudaimonic – which involves our entire wellbeing and contentment. And, believe it or not, there is a rich science of happiness that is multileveled and multi-disciplinary, ranging from philosophy to theology, biology to psychology.

So what do we know? Corey Keyes, a sociologist, suggests that when people flourish or when people live a ‘good life’ (as described by Aristotle) they have high life satisfaction in at least six of the following eudaimonic qualities: contributing to society, social integration, wide range of social groups, accepting others, self-acceptance, mastery over their environment, positive relationships with others, autonomy, personal growth, and purpose in life.

You and I know that happy people are great to be with, and it is recognized that happy people live longer, are more creative, playful and open to new ideas. Biology tells us that we also have a disposition to satisfaction in life, but the evidence is clear that because of the brain’s plasticity it can adapt and change according life’s experiences. We can forge positivity, it can be learned.

From his extensive research, psychologist Martin Seligman proposed three ways to increase your happiness: get more pleasure out of life, become more engaged in what you do, and find ways of making your life feel more meaningful.

Can I suggest that the Christian person ought be a happy person, because any faithful response to the Christian vocation is an answer to Seligman’s proposition? Are not Christians deeply aware of life’s offerings, of the integrity of creation and the wonders it unfurls for them each day? Are not Christians drawn by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to build communities of compassion, of fellowship, of hope? Are not Christians meaning-makers of life’s experiences? Yes, they are.

The disciples of Jesus find themselves in Antioch in Pisidia, preaching the good news to all the assembly and after being abused by the local Jewish community, Barnabas tells them that ‘We had to proclaim the word of God to you first, but since you have rejected it … we must turn to the pagans.’ When the pagans heard this they were very happy, they thanked the Lord and they all became believers. In this conversion both the disciples and the pagans are transformed – the disciples are filled with joy, and the pagans in their happiness take the Gospel to the whole countryside. This is Christian happiness, and it is available still to you and me.