Happiness
Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? You want something and do not have it, so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it, so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures. Adulterers! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you suppose that the scripture speaks to no purpose? Does the spirit that God caused to dwell in us desire envy? But God gives all the more grace; therefore, it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into dejection. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. Do not speak evil against one another, brothers and sisters. Whoever speaks evil against another or judges another speaks evil against the law and judges the law, but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and to destroy. So, who, then, are you to judge your neighbor?
James 4:1-12
STORY
Jen Shah was a reality star on The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, which debuted in November 2020 and is broadcast by Bravo. In the series she presented herself as a wealthy and successful businessperson, which, she contends, is a reflection of her real life. Though, the opulence was false. Her beauty comes from extensive plastic surgery. Her ski chalet, which became a pivotal fixture in the series, was revealed to have been rented. The wealth that she flaunted with jewelry and furs, came from ill-gotten means.
In the third season the show Shah took a new role in society, not as a television icon but as a convicted felon. She was convicted of wire fraud and money laundering involving a telemarketing scheme, in which elderly or vulnerable persons were targeted to obtain large financial fees by claiming to offer services like website building and business coaching. She is currently serving a 5-year, 6-month sentence at Bryan Prison, a federal prison in Bryan, Texas.
After a year of incarceration, she reflected on her experience with an exclusive interview with People magazine. She shared that “The depth of my pain is unrelenting and indescribable.” The reason for this is her “wretched and unpredictable surroundings.” She went on to tell the interviewer, “Despair and depression are companions that strive to capture my undivided attention every single day.” To combat this Shah said, “Praying five times a day helps keep these and other emotional serpents at bay.” Though, she admitted, “My husband tells me every morning that I have to fight for my happiness.”
Jennifer Shah, the Christian who converted to Islam, is unable to find happiness in her god.
DEVOTION
With amazement, I am not alone, as I share this experience with other Christians, when a biblical passage appears at the right moment in one’s life. I have been several days researching this devotion on happiness and contemplating the best scriptural teaching that Jennifer Shah illustrates, when a truth was brought forth in the topic of discussion in my Wednesday morning men’s prayer group, held at Ebenezer Baptist Church, located in Florence, South Carolina.
That morning, we were studying the book of James, chapter four, verses one through twelve. Attentive to what I would be writing that afternoon, I focused on the presentation and discussion related to happiness. The central point being you cannot be happy if you are in “friendship with the world.”
“Friend” is a very powerful word, endowed with significant meaning. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines it as, “one attached to another by affection or esteem.” To be a friend of the world, which is to be a friend of all things self-serving, is to forsake spiritual endeavors. We often focus worldly friendship as a pursuit of money and materialism, though it is so much more. It really becomes an endeavor of self-glorification, of self-importance. It is an egocentric and selfish life. Central to this friendship is “me” and how people and events are opportunities for my endowment.
The word “esteem” is also a very powerful word, possessing significant meaning. Again, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, it is defined as, “regard highly and prize accordingly.” It is to regard earthly living higher than heavenly living. It is to prize a centrist lifestyle, rather than a life that is other oriented.
This of course, according to James, the half-brother of Jesus, that friends of the world are adulterers because they have cheated in their relationship to God. I wonder how many unbelievers have entertained the idea that they are committing spiritual adultery. James chose the most descriptive word possible to pronounce judgement on those who worship self and not the Deity of creation.
I guess it is a choice between living for television affirmation, Botox, ski chalet, or humility, reconciliation, self-sacrifice.
As the Lord works in mysterious ways, I was recently provided with instructions for the path we are to travel towards happiness. Ebenezer has a devotional booklet that congregants can take home for private meditation and inspiration. The devotion in Reflections for Monday, March 4, was written by Brett Younger. Brett is the senior pastor at Plymouth Church in Brooklyn, New York. Very interesting to academic me, was learning that the most popular course in Yale University’s 322-year history is “Psychology of the Good Life,” taught by Professor Laurie Santos. It is really a course in common sense as she instructs: Understand that the world is bigger than your problems; Focus on what really matters; Don’t adore what is not worth your adoration; Don’t let work consume your life; Respect others; Be faithful in your relationships; Don’t care too much about money; Be truthful; Don’t set your heart on other people’s stuff.
Brett followed this introductory paragraph by sharing what we were taught about happiness over 3400 years ago. According to Brett, God, using Moses as his professor, gave us ten instructions for happy living, as the Plymouth Church pastor wrote: Understand that God is bigger than you; Don’t give your devotion to what isn’t worthy of your devotion; Take God seriously; Take a day each week to think about what matters; Care for your parents; Don’t hurt anyone; Don’t cheat on your partner; Don’t steal; Don’t lie; Don’t want what other people have.
The Rev. Dr. Younger, pastor and seminary professor, concluded his devotional with this line: “The truths that lead to real happiness also lead to pleasing God and living better lives.”