Holy, Not Happy
One of the ever-present notions concerning God’s relationship with mankind is the one which maintains that our Creator’s great desire is for His creation, to be happy in life. Now, while it is true that the Lord finds joy in our happiness (see Eccl. 8:15; 1 Tim. 4:4), the belief that this is God’s ultimate desire has led to some very unfortunate consequences. Namely, it has provided a convenient justification for less than acceptable (and often immoral) behavior. “I am going to pursue this job/possession/relationship because it will make me happy…and God wants me to be happy.” Yet, no matter how hard we try to rationalize the belief, the fact of the matter is this…God is not primarily interested in you being happy! God’s interest is in you being HOLY!
Holiness is one of YHWH’s primary characteristics. The fact of God’s holiness is why our sins cause us to be separated from Him (Isa. 59:1-2). It is why He says over and over in Leviticus and then in 1 Peter 1:14-16, that we must “be holy because [He is] holy.” Thus, if we are going to live in the presence of God at all, holiness must be one of our characteristics as well.
Our holiness is so important to God, that it functions as the basis for why He sent Jesus. His love is so strong, that He offered His only Son as the atoning sacrifice which would impute His own holiness and righteousness to those who put their full faith in Jesus (2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 10:10).
Having been made holy by the blood of Christ, it is no surprise that God expects our lives henceforth to reflect this new status which is now ours. Holiness is a way of life, carried out in our morality, ethics, and conduct as a continued faith response to His saving work. It is manifested in terms like “denying self” (Luke 9:23), presenting our bodies as “living sacrifices” (Rom. 12:1), and being filled with God’s Spirit as opposed to drunkenness & debauchery (Eph. 5:19-20).
God is not concerned with supplying whatever your heart desires. He is interested in giving you what you need so that when time as we know it has ended, you will spend eternity with Him in heaven. This is God’s primary concern for us, that we be holy just as He is holy. By pursuing this holiness, the result is that we become what God intends us to be while on this earth. And the truth is, we will also be happy with life in the process. Yet it will be a holy happiness, not selfish happiness.