Does God Want Our Happiness?

How many times have you heard someone say, "I just want you to be happy?" Is happiness what is best for us though? Certainly we hope to enjoy our lives and some have made the argument that God has created the world to sustain human enjoyment. Why even the Declaration of Independence declares, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Were men created with the right to pursue happiness? I believe so, but not as an ultimate goal to physical existence, and Christians would do well to reflect on this from time to time. Furthermore, since God allows evil in the world, holding the belief that God champions our happiness becomes untenable. Consider the following words of William Lane Craig, writing on "The Problem of Evil" from his ministry, Reasonable Faith.

The chief purpose of life is not happiness, but the knowledge of God. One reason that the problem of evil seems so puzzling is that we tend to think that if God exists, then His goal for human life is happiness in this world. God’s role is to provide comfortable environment for His human pets. But on the Christian view this is false. We are not God’s pets, and man’s end is not happiness in this world, but the knowledge of God, which will ultimately bring true and everlasting human fulfillment. Many evils occur in life which maybe utterly pointless with respect to the goal of producing human happiness in this world, but they may not be unjustified with respect to producing the knowledge of God. Innocent human suffering provides an occasion for deeper dependency and trust in God, either on the part of the sufferer or those around him. Of course, whether God's purpose is achieved through our suffering will depend on our response. Do we respond with anger and bitterness toward God, or do we turn to Him in faith for strength to endure?

One of the mysteries of Christianity is that in pursuing God's will, His will becomes our will. In that respect knowing God becomes our happiness. Perhaps instead of telling others, "I just want you to be happy," the wise exhortation might be to say, "I just want you to be informed."

20 November 2018