I’m irritated with our culture’s focus on happiness. It seems to be the holy grail, as if it is a gift bestowed on those who do things “right.” Yes, I like to be happy and enjoy it, but the focused pursuit of it feels like eating saccharine for every meal. The nature of mortal life precludes enduring happiness, we are sent here to sweat and toil, to work out our salvation. Constant happiness would leave us without motivation or questions. Yet, there’s a cultural expectation that if we and our families aren’t happy we must be doing something wrong. I just can’t believe that the predominant emotion that God wants us to feel is unending bliss- where’s the learning and striving, the eternal progression in that?

Where is happiness on your goal list? Is it a factor in righteousness and eternal salvation? Are you happy right now?

Photo: Farrukh via Compfight