[Faith-talk] Good Night Message for Thursday, November 29 2012

[Paul]

Well folks, for those of us in North America it's evening, whereas in other parts of the world it's either morning or afternoon.  Anyway I hope that your Thursday went well and that your Friday is going well.  I'll mention here that, beginning on December 1 and continuing through December 25 or maybe even a little longer, that we'll be having some articles about Christmas, and I don't mean Santa Claus, reindeer, Christmas trees or anything like that, but articles and/or short stories that will, with God's help, focus on the birth of Christ.  Just thought you'd all like a sneak preview.

If you liked Frana Hamilton's article from yesterday, then you're going to hopefully like her contribution for today entitled "Some Myths About Happiness," rendered as follows:

Myth 1: My purpose in life is to be happy.  If I am happy, I will feel I have been successful.

That does not square with Scripture.  Revelation 4:11 tells us, "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created."

God created us for His pleasure and glory, not ours.

Myth 2: I can never be happy if I "miss" the will of God for my life.  Wait a minute.  That sounds like I am missing a bus.  God knows that I am not perfect and that I make mistakes and do some stupid things, but the moment I acknowledge my wrong decision, the heavenly Father stands ready to forgive and to welcome me back into fellowship and into His will.  He does let me bear the consequences of my decisions, though, and that helps me to learn from my mistakes.  If my heart is right, God will use me as He sees fit.

Myth 3: Another myth that some people buy into is that God instituted marriage to make us happy.  It would be closer to the truth to say that God instituted marriage (which brings both joys and irritations) for my holiness and wholeness.

Myth 4: A popular myth we hear and read a lot about is that if I have good self-esteem, I will be happy.

In Mark 12:31 Jesus taught that "thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." This teaches that it is normal and natural and acceptable to love myself.  Loving and accepting myself as a person made in the image of God is certainly the core of self-esteem.  But that is not the whole story.  I must not neglect my neighbor.  I must love him as much as I love myself.

As a teacher I have met a lot of bullies who have high self-esteem, but they esteem themselves better than other people.  Yes, they have self-esteem, but that is not enough.  They need to esteem others as well.

Paul seems to speak to this in Philippians 2:3: "In lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than themselves." So esteeming myself is not enough to make me happy.

I have come to the conclusion that happiness is a by-product of walking in obedience to God.  As I trust and obey Him, loving others, and serving them, witnessing to them, I find that happiness just steals up on me and surprises me.

And there you have Sister Frana's article for today.  Hope you enjoyed it.

And now may the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob just keep us safe, individually and collectively, throughout this night or day and especially in these last days in which we live.  Your Christian frien and brother, Paul