Happiness Is Overrated: J Is For Joy

There are joys which long to be ours. ~Henry Ward Beecher

I stand at my front door and fret for happiness while joy taps patiently at my back window. I listen to the “if only” whispers in my head, even as the soaring promise of today fills the air.

Happiness teases, like a dust mote, dancing just beyond my grasp.

Happiness, the kind that means life is going my way, makes an unsteady target. I aim too low, wish too small, and often hit the bulls-eye to find it was at someone else’s expense. My prayer for sun cancels a farmer’s thirsty hope.  His blue ribbon win means someone else goes home a loser. Her bargain purchase guarantees someone else’s shrinking funds.

But the pursuit of happiness is a human addiction, and sometimes our dearest god.

Happiness And The Biblical Story

The day the wilderness-wandering Israelites finally reach the Jordan River, expecting an easy milk and honey welcome, they peer through the border mists and panic.

There are giants in the Promised Land.

There always are. Problems never take vacations. Bickering, battles (see the book of Joshua), and bad leadership (see the book of Judges)–we bring ourselves wherever we go.

And then the book of Ruth, where we read about Naomi.

Naomi is bitter. Famine in Israel drove her family to immigrate to foreign pastures, away from the land of promise. Did her reluctant feet lag behind, and turn for one last look at familiar faces and farmland? Did she wonder if they left too soon? Would everything have been fine if they had waited for God to act?

The signposts to happiness are often hidden from view. And oh, the grief we carry if we choose the wrong move. Maybe today you are reeling with regret. Or looking with disgust at the cards in your hand, feeling forgotten. The lie is shouted in every ear, “It’s too late for you.”

Naomi’s husband died among strangers, the two sons put down roots, marrying women not of their faith. And Naomi, a displaced widow, spent a decade, daily tallying the cost of a long ago decision. Then, a final blow–the sons died too, and Naomi and their foreign wives were left to their fate.

But even in dungeons of self-pity, joy will keep on knocking. The rest of the story of Naomi, and the daughter-in-law who would not desert her, is a beautiful read. Themes of self-giving kindness, and God’s welcome embrace enchant us still today. It’s the story of how a woman can endure life-crushing blows, the end of all possibility of happiness, and be given something better. It’s the tale of Ruth giving birth to King David’s grandfather and placing the baby on Naomi’s empty lap, and God stirring all the good and poor choices together and making for Naomi a hearty stew of Joy.

 

How does joy differ from happiness in your experience?

In our series, An Alphabet Adagio, we are savoring the story of the Bible, our story, alphabetically. You can subscribe to e-mail above so you won’t miss a letter. Next: K is for King.