“The belief that we can rely on shortcuts to happiness, joy, rapture, comfort, and ecstasy, rather than be entitled to these feelings by the exercise of personal strengths and virtues, leads to legions of people who in the middle of great wealth are starving spiritually.” – Martin Seligman
One of the great challenges for this generation is overcoming the entitlement mentality that pervades our culture. Unfortunately, this entitlement mentality has already done enormous damage on an economic level, where we are taught to depend on the government as a Nanny State to meet all of our needs rather than work hard, apply ourselves, and reap the rewards of that hard work.
This entitlement mentality also hinders our ability to experience the kind of fulfilling lives God intends us to live. We get the message that happiness is possible and translate it through our culturally influenced filters as happiness is automatic. We forget that the founders of this nation wrote that the “pursuit of happiness” is a God-given right, not happiness, itself.
Happiness is not automatic and there are no shortcuts. Happiness is God’s great desire for each of us. To know God is to understand his amazing grace and love, his forgiveness and his call on each of our lives to make the world a better place by using the talents, gifts and strengths he’s given us to be a blessing to others. It is in serving others with the blessings God has given us that we experience happiness. It doesn’t just magically appear because we are alive.
Oh, but this is God’s heart! He wants you to be happy. He wants you to experience his joy. He wants you to know his unfailing peace. What are you doing about it?