Many today are worried sick about terrorism, but in reality we are our own worse enemy! Man’s biggest problem is his obsession with self. We see it vividly in little children and we expect it, but sadly it stays with most people throughtout life. Even those who contemplate becoming Christians usually do so with the wrong motive. They want to know “Will it help me?”, “Will it solve my problems?”, “Will it meet my needs?” Certainly every Christian would testify that Christianity does help us, but if that is the only factor a person considers he will never become the person God wants him to be.
The famous missionary to inland China, Hudson Taylor (1832-1905) understood this. He said,”Are we not all too apt to seek Him rather because of our need than for His joy and pleasure? This should not be. We do not admire selfish children who only think of what they can get from their parents and are unmindful of the pleasure that they may give or the service that they may render. But are not we in danger of forgetting that pleasing God means giving Him pleasure?”
Sadly, personal pleasure has become more important to us than pleasing God. We break our necks trying to make ourselves happy, and we believe we deserve it, but we keep coming up short. As Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) wrote:”The search for happiness is one of the chief sources of unhappiness.” He was right.
A.W. Tozer(1897-1963) said, “The doctrine of man’s inalienable right to happiness is anti-God and anti-Christ, and its wide acceptance by society tells us a lot about that same society.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.said,”The end of life is not to be happy nor to achieve pleasure and avoid pain, but to do the will of God, come what may.”
Martyn Lloyd Jones wrote:”They alone are truly happy who are seeking to be righteous. Put happiness in the place of righteousness and you will never get it.” He was right–there is no true happiness without holiness. Solomon tried wisdom, wine, works, wealth, and women in his search for satisfaction, but he concluded that it was all vanity. He was so disappointed that he declared he hated life.
The Bible clearly teaches that our main duty is to glorify God. Living for any other purpose spells failure. Glorifying God should be the supreme passion of our heart. It should be our all consuming interest, the thing that motivates and drives us. Get that right and you will never lack for genuine joy.Think about it!
