Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers; but their delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law they meditate day and night.
(Psalm 1.1-2 NRSV)
E. Stanley Jones, in his book GROWING SPIRITUALLY, tells another good story. It's about a man who lived out a fantasy life. All he had to do was think of something and "poof!" it happened. So this man sticks his hands in his pockets, leans back, and imagines a mansion. "Poof!" he has a fifteen-bedroom mansion, with three stories and servants available to wait upon his every need. Of course, a place like that needs several fine cars. So he again closes his eyes and imagines the driveway full of the finest wheels money can buy. And "poof!" several of the best vehicles instantly appear. He is free to drive them himself, or sit back and have the chauffeur drive him wherever he wishes.

When he comes back home from his drive, he wishes for a sumptuous meal and "poof!" there's the meal in front of him with all of its mouth-watering aromas and beauty -- which he eats alone. It is about then that he realizes there is something more that he needs to find happiness. After a fairly short while he grows so terribly bored and unchallenged that he tells one of his attendants, "I want to get out of this. I want to create some things on my own again. I'd rather be in hell than be here." To which the servant replies quietly, "Where do you think you are?"

So what does it take to be happy? I can't give you a precise answer because it will vary according to our individual needs. I can say this, however: No one can truly be happy who is not in a proper relationship with God and with other people. It's hard to really be happy when you live only for yourself.

Dear God, I am happiest when I’m close to you. Amen.

Ron Newhouse

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