"Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs in the Kingdom of Heaven" (Matthew 5:10).
I was once listening to an interview on the radio with a woman who was talking about a book she wrote, outlining her past year in which she focused on her personal pursuit of happiness. Each month she created themes and goals to pursue, such as: remember birthdays, be generous, and don't gossip. Each month she tracked how happy her decisions, the situations she found herself in, and her actions made her.
What stuck out about this pursuit was that it seemed to be rather self-serving. She didn't say that she was actually trying to be a good friend or neighbour or co-worker. She was doing these things to be happy.
It raises the questions: Is it wrong to try and be happy? Is happiness what we should be aiming for and orienting our lives around?
Most of the messages and voices of cultural influence point that way. From billboards, to TV commercials, to Oprah.
It is good to be happy, but does it come at a cost?
Do we avoid the pain of entering into other people's troubles because it might bring us down or because we don't know how to fit that in with our vision of happiness?
In this season of Lent we approach Holy Week in the Christian calendar: Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. It is the time where Jesus bears the burden of the cross for the glory of God and for the life of the world. Our God is not a god who lives above the pain and problems of the world, but he finds himself deeply embedded in them and working for their redemption - even when it means enduring suffering, pain and shame in this pursuit.
In the book of Hebrews in the New Testament the writer of that letter makes the profound proclamation that "It was for the joy set before Jesus that he endured the cross, despised its shame, and sat down at the right hand of God the Father" (Heb 12:2).
If happiness is more of a goal that is focused on yourself, then joy is the result of living and loving beyond yourself. With Jesus as our example and proof of what it is to live as someone made in the image of God, our primary concern is not for personal happiness but it is the well-being and life of others. And in our living for others and loving others we will receive the fruit of joy.
What makes this profound is that, like Jesus, this pursuit of loving others and living for others will even cause us to endure pain and suffering in these outward-focused actions.
So as we journey closer towards Good Friday, "consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary and lose heart" (Heb 12:3).
