It's in our constitution that all men are created equal and are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, among them life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. There you have it, God has given me the right to live my life anyway that brings me happiness. Well, that's seems to be the interpretation by many, but I'm not sure that that was the intentions of Jefferson and the crafters of the constitution. "It's all about me and what I want" seems to have developed in more recent years. So people argue today that since I have the right to pursue what makes me happy, nothing that brings me happiness should be excluded and you don't have any right to impose your values on me.
Further more happiness or the pursuit of happiness is defined as anything that makes me happy. If it makes me happy, it shouldn't be against the law or immoral or...do you see where this is going? Cultural trends shift rapidly. In less than a generation cultural opinions can tip to polar opposites. Some chalk it up to social evolution or enlightenment. The pursuit of happiness has power.
For many the pursuit of happiness is a way to find real life. So for many the pursuit of happiness is about the pursuit of wealth, power, status, material possessions, pleasure or self gratification. People kill themselves trying to get any or all of those things. We work long hours, overextend our finances, sacrifice family or family priorities, or engage in questionable activities. Charles Swindoll has said, "we have become a generation of people who worship our work...who work at our play...and who play at our worship."
But Solomon gives us some better advice if we really want to find real life. Instead of pursuing what we think will bring us happiness and thus real life, Solomon says, "Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor." (Prov. 21:21) If we really want to find real life, real prosperity and real honor, then we should pursue righteousness and unfailing love. It's not about self. It's about pursuing God, Godly living and Godly loving. What does that look like?
It means that our energies become centered on understanding God, His principles and practices. Hanging around a church service will help catch a glimpse of God, but we won't really understand Him until we actually dig into His Word on our own, studying and meditating upon it, closely examining His practices and ways. But pursuing righteousness and love also means employing those principles and practices in our own life. Godly living and Godly loving are simply enacting those principles and practices through the investment of our lives into others. Authors Hugh Halter, Michael Frost, Alan Hirsch, Lance Ford and others have suggested that pursuing righteousness and love is really about incarnating Jesus through our lives or in other words following the example of Jesus in serving/blessing people in practical ways. Pursing righteousness is not about trying to live a perfect sinless life. It's about letting Jesus live His life out in us.
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs have always intrigued me. How do I get to that final level of self actualization? It isn't focusing on self, self needs, or self gratification ironically. It's actually doing exactly what Solomon says in Proverbs 21, pursuing righteousness and love and that is spelled in pursuing God, Godly living and Godly loving.
God, I confess I find myself focusing my energies on self fulfillment or self gratification most of the time. I know that that is an empty pursuit. I know that I feel a greater fulfillment, inner peace, joy, rich, etc when I've poured myself out into others in your behalf. I have a greater sense of respect and honor from others when I humbly and genuinely serve others. I want to be more like Jesus. Empower me. Coach me through your Spirit. Keep my eyes focused on Kingdom things and not earthly or selfish things.
Further more happiness or the pursuit of happiness is defined as anything that makes me happy. If it makes me happy, it shouldn't be against the law or immoral or...do you see where this is going? Cultural trends shift rapidly. In less than a generation cultural opinions can tip to polar opposites. Some chalk it up to social evolution or enlightenment. The pursuit of happiness has power.
For many the pursuit of happiness is a way to find real life. So for many the pursuit of happiness is about the pursuit of wealth, power, status, material possessions, pleasure or self gratification. People kill themselves trying to get any or all of those things. We work long hours, overextend our finances, sacrifice family or family priorities, or engage in questionable activities. Charles Swindoll has said, "we have become a generation of people who worship our work...who work at our play...and who play at our worship."
But Solomon gives us some better advice if we really want to find real life. Instead of pursuing what we think will bring us happiness and thus real life, Solomon says, "Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor." (Prov. 21:21) If we really want to find real life, real prosperity and real honor, then we should pursue righteousness and unfailing love. It's not about self. It's about pursuing God, Godly living and Godly loving. What does that look like?
It means that our energies become centered on understanding God, His principles and practices. Hanging around a church service will help catch a glimpse of God, but we won't really understand Him until we actually dig into His Word on our own, studying and meditating upon it, closely examining His practices and ways. But pursuing righteousness and love also means employing those principles and practices in our own life. Godly living and Godly loving are simply enacting those principles and practices through the investment of our lives into others. Authors Hugh Halter, Michael Frost, Alan Hirsch, Lance Ford and others have suggested that pursuing righteousness and love is really about incarnating Jesus through our lives or in other words following the example of Jesus in serving/blessing people in practical ways. Pursing righteousness is not about trying to live a perfect sinless life. It's about letting Jesus live His life out in us.
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs have always intrigued me. How do I get to that final level of self actualization? It isn't focusing on self, self needs, or self gratification ironically. It's actually doing exactly what Solomon says in Proverbs 21, pursuing righteousness and love and that is spelled in pursuing God, Godly living and Godly loving.
God, I confess I find myself focusing my energies on self fulfillment or self gratification most of the time. I know that that is an empty pursuit. I know that I feel a greater fulfillment, inner peace, joy, rich, etc when I've poured myself out into others in your behalf. I have a greater sense of respect and honor from others when I humbly and genuinely serve others. I want to be more like Jesus. Empower me. Coach me through your Spirit. Keep my eyes focused on Kingdom things and not earthly or selfish things.
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