Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. –Proverbs 3:17
Satan “is a liar, and the father of it.”(John 8:44). He has been deceiving man ever since he deceived the woman in the Garden of Eden. The Bible warns us about this repeatedly and tells us to “Prove all things” and “hold fast that which is good”(1 Thess. 5:21).
One of the areas in which we are most often deceived is that of holiness. The very mention of the word is unpleasant to most people. Hearing it causes them to think of a sad lonely monk isolated in a monastery in some remote location. They certainly don’t equate it with “joy unspeakable and full of glory”(1 Peter 1:8). They cannot imagine that one can be both holy and happy. But they are wrong!
Listen to these wise words written by Arthur Pink in 1949:
The Satan-deceived world imagines that godliness is a thing of gloom–rather than of gladness; that it is something which the saints endure–rather than enjoy. On the contrary, holiness is happiness!
It is neither the mirth of the fool, nor the giddy gaiety of the thoughtless–but a “peace which passes all understanding” (Philippians 4:7), and a heart-satisfaction not to be found elsewhere! So far from piety robbing us of freedom, it conducts into true liberty–delivering from the bondage of sin. Christ’s yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matthew 11:30).
God has established an inseparable connection between holiness–and happiness; between our pleasing Him–and our enjoyment of His providential smile.
Worldly mirth is at best evanescent–but the delights of holiness are eternal.
Only the One Who made us–can truly content us!
