Is Happiness Unspiritual?

Is happiness unspiritual?

They come with happiness and joy; they enter the king’s palace.

Psalm 45:15, NCV

All your security, freedom, rest, peace, and happiness consist in the goodness and love of your Maker towards you.

WILHELMUS À BRAKEL

I’VE WATCHED PEOPLE in several countries view the JESUS film for the first time. They beam as Jesus befriends children and performs miracles, groan and weep at his crucifixion, and smile or cry out with delight when they witness his resurrection. The reality of who Jesus is overwhelms them. (I’m told that at one showing, tribal warriors spontaneously jumped to their feet and riddled the screen with blowgun darts in an attempt to stop the soldiers from nailing Jesus to the cross.)

I’ve also watched videos of tribal groups hearing about eternal life in Jesus for the first time. People repent, turn to Jesus, break out in joyful shouts, and dance for hours.^a

A video of the Kimyal tribe in Indonesia conveys the overwhelming happiness of those receiving the first Bible in their own language. The occasion, marked by joyful tears, broad smiles, and spontaneous dancing, demonstrates the contagious happiness of people who delight in reading God’s words in their heart language.^b

The Bible is a vast reservoir containing not dozens but hundreds of passages conveying happiness. God says, “My word that goes out from my mouth . . . will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11, NIV). (That promise is for his words, not mine or yours, which is why this book contains so much Scripture.)

What God says differs radically from what many people—unbelievers and believers alike—assume.

If we don’t explore the happiness-related words God put in the Bible, we’ll miss the richness of happiness in Christ lying beneath the surface of Scripture. While no treatment of joy and happiness should deny or minimize texts of lamentation, a truly biblical doctrine of joy and happiness fully recognizes and embraces the realities of suffering in this present age. Happiness in Scripture is all the deeper and richer because it doesn’t require denial or pretense. We can experience it even in the midst of severe difficulty.

Some argue that the word happy is too unspiritual for Christians to use. But those who have studied the Hebrew word asher and the Greek word makarios, which are frequently used in Scripture, know that those words definitely convey happiness.

Unfortunately, both words are most often translated “blessed” in the most widely read translations (though many other translations render them “happy”). In 1611, when the King James Version was translated, blessed was a synonym for happy. So whether or not we recognize it, the Bible has talked about being happy all along.

Growing up in an unbelieving home, I never heard the word blessed. After I came to Christ I heard the word countless times. I didn’t know what it meant; I just knew it sounded holy and spiritual. It was “white noise”—one of many church words whose meanings are masked due to constant use.

Years later, I heard someone say that in passages such as Psalm 1 and the beatitudes of Matthew 5 and Luke 6, blessed means “happy.” My response was, “Huh?”

Because of what I’d read and been taught, I was certain this must be wrong. In passing years, I’ve dug for the truth, and my search has yielded rich and surprising discoveries—including that there are more than twenty different Hebrew words and fifteen Greek words in Scripture that are happiness synonyms. The Bible is full of references to happiness.

Despite the original language’s meaning, there’s a prejudice against using the words happy and happiness in English Bible translations. About thirty years ago, my friend John R. Kohlenberger III, the author of dozens of Hebrew and Greek reference books, handed the newly updated New International Version to the religion editor of a major newspaper. She immediately turned to the Beatitudes in Matthew 5 and was relieved to see that it said blessed—it passed her test. To her, blessed was spiritual and happy was unspiritual. Her primary concern didn’t seem to be what the original language actually meant but how the English translation sounded.

But happy isn’t the only word with baggage—many good words are commonly misused and watered down. The word holy has lots of baggage too. To countless people, it means being self-righteous, intolerant, and out of touch with reality. Since people routinely misunderstand it, should we avoid the word holy? Love is commonly used in superficial ways, as popular music has long demonstrated. People say they love hamburgers, hairstyles, and YouTube. They “make love” to someone they barely know. Since the word love has been so trivialized, should we remove it from Bible translations and stop using the word in our families and churches?

Of course not. Instead, we should clarify what Scripture actually means by love and holiness, as well as hope, peace, pleasure, and yes, happiness. When appropriate, we should contrast the meaning in Scripture with our culture’s superficial and sometimes sinful connotations.

The world and the church once agreed that happiness was good and that all people seek it. We desperately need holiness, but it’s happiness we long for, and the church shouldn’t retreat from such an important word. On the contrary, we should give it a biblical context, reclaim it, celebrate it, and embrace it as part of the gospel message.

Dear God, you have shown us so clearly that the gospel of your Son is good news because it brings happiness to all who embrace it. Thank you for sending your Word who became flesh—Jesus—and thank you for sending happiness through him.