Our generation has seen more prosperity than previous generations. Ironically, this has not translated to more happiness. On the contrary, the world’s happiness has dipped. Professor Arthur C. Brooks, a specialist in the study of happiness, in a recent article in Harvard Business Review, noted that happiness entered into decline from the ‘80s and ‘90s. In his daily commentary of Wednesday September 6, 2023, Dr. Jim Denison quoted Brooks as he advanced the factors that influence happiness. “We know the habits that bring the happiest life—your philosophical or your faith life, your family life, your real friendships, and work that serves others in person—these have been in decline. When those things go in decline, there’s no tech that’s going to solve the problem.”
“Gaining the whole material world without God will leave the heart empty and miserable”
The three things identified by Professor Brooks will form the focus of our meditation today and the next couple of days. The first on the list is “your faith life”. Well, writing from an academic background, Brooks was careful so as not to be branded a religious bigot. So he calls it “your philosophical or faith life”. In plain language, no one can know true happiness without faith in the God of the Bible. C. S. Lewis said, “God cannot give us happiness and peace apart from himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.” Gaining the whole material world without God will leave the heart empty and miserable. In our text, David knew a depth of happiness that was not known to the moneybags of his days. The same is true even now. Only those who walk with God sincerely will enjoy the fruit of joy.