Our attitudes towards happiness seem to be constantly in flux. We're used to hearing that money can't buy happiness but then we discover that there's an element of truth behind the idea that it can, up until a certain point anyway and we're told that being fit and healthy has the power to make us happy but the science behind why we reach for comfort food when we're sad suggests otherwise.
Money, success and romantic love often top the lists of things we think will make us happy. But how right are we to think that they will?
Money
Many of us think that a higher salary or substantial wealth would be the answer to our happiness question. Because so many of our reasons for being unhappy are tied to financial difficulty, an increase in income which allows us to comfortably cover our expenses can lift this feeling of being burdened and actually free us up to be happier.
But this doesn't mean we all need to become millionaires to be happy. This increased satisfaction with life is capped at £50,000. After this, it might not be more 'mo' money, mo' problems' like the late Biggie Smalls said but it won't necessarily be more money, more satisfaction. And we can still experience true happiness without anything near £50,000.
The Apostle Paul said it the best when he said: "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." (Phil.4:12)
If more of us learned this secret, it would be a happier world indeed.
Marriage
Are married couples happier than singletons? According to some researchers, the answer is yes. But it's not as simple as it may seem.
While studies show that married people can be happier, the quality of the relationship is key. Simply being married isn't in itself a fast-track route to happiness, and singletons can experience the same levels of happiness if they belong to a community in which they receive invaluable emotional, physical and spiritual support.
The essential ingredient to happiness in marriage is the same as happiness in single life - having a close and loving relationship with God and keeping Him first place in your heart.
Success
How we define success depends on the individual task or situation, our personal goals and the expectations of other people. It can make us happy when our efforts and achievements are recognised by others but we risk becoming more focused on what others think than what actually makes us happy.
We're never going to be happy if our happiness is based on the opinions of others because it's impossible to please everyone, and there won't always be someone around to compliment us. Success in a working, recreational or personal environment is so often short-lived and the effort required to maintain it can mean that our happiness is unstable and maybe even out of reach. This isn't to say that we shouldn't strive for success, it's just that seeing that as the sole route to our happiness is likely to leave us unhappy.
So...?
The popular rhetoric about happiness being a choice is something that Christians can relate to. When we choose Jesus, we choose happiness. We know that our possessions, wealth, success and romantic love aren't the route to true happiness but a relationship with Jesus is. This doesn't mean we're always happy but that our happiness will fluctuate less because it isn't dependent on external factors.
