Dictionary.com defines it this way:
happy: delighted, pleased, or glad, as over a particular thing
And Thesaurus.com gives this list of synonyms:
| blessed, blest, blissful, blithe, can't complain, captivated, cheerful, chipper, chirpy, content, contented, convivial, delighted, ecstatic, elated, exultant, flying high, gay, glad, gleeful, gratified, intoxicated, jolly, joyful, joyous, jubilant, laughing, light, lively, looking good, merry, mirthful, on cloud nine, overjoyed, peaceful, peppy, perky, playful, pleasant, pleased, sparkling, sunny, thrilled, tickled, tickled pink, up, upbeat, walking on air |
happy: 2. Being in the enjoyment of agreeable sensations from the possession of good; enjoying pleasure from the gratification of appetites or desires. The pleasurable sensations derived from the gratification of sensual appetites render a person temporarily happy; but he only can be esteemed really and permanently happy, who enjoys peace of mind in the favor of God. To be in any degree happy, we must be free from pain both of body and of mind; to be very happy, we must be in the enjoyment of lively sensations of pleasure, either of body or mind.
Which brings me to the Shorter Catechism. We were introduced to catechism about five years ago. Well, I'd heard of catechism from some of my Catholic friends, but I had not heard of Protestants catechizing. If you're not familiar with the Westminster or Baptist catechism, they are an organized list of questions and answers regarding the basics of the Christian faith which can be memorized by children or new believers (or anyone else =)). We began to use the catechism book that we had been given during our family worship. The question that I've been chewing on a bit this week is:
Q: "In what condition did God make Adam and Eve?"
A: He made them holy and happy.
Mommy and I were talking about a week ago about happiness and she commented that happiness is the "preferred state" for all people. Which made me think of the catechism question above. I've been pondering how we all try to get back to that state of happiness in which Adam and Eve were created. But I've also been pondering this short passage from The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. (If you are not familiar with The Screwtape Letters, it is written from the perspective of an older demon instructing a younger demon on how to effectively tempt/entice/enslave the souls of humans. So "the Enemy" refers to God, and "Our Father" refers to Satan.)
"Never forgot that when we are dealing with any pleasure in its healthy and normal and satisfying form, we are, in a sense, on the Enemy’s ground. I know we have won many a soul through pleasure. All the same, it is His invention, not ours. He made the pleasures: all our research so far has not enabled us to produce one. All we can do is to encourage the human to take the pleasure which our Enemy has produced, at times, or in ways, or in degrees, which He has forbidden. Hence we always try to work away from the natural condition of any pleasure to that in which it is least natural, least redolent of its Maker, and least pleasurable. An ever increasing craving for an ever diminishing pleasure is the formula. It is more certain; and it’s better style. To get the man’s souls and give him nothing in return — that is what really gladdens Our Father’s Heart."
Real happiness grows from a right relationship with our Creator. And insofar as we enjoy the pleasures He created within the parameters He set, we receive happiness. =)
As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.
1 Timothy 6:17
then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Genesis 2:7-9
And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."
Genesis 2:16-17
In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches.
Psalms 119:14
I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.
Psalms 119:16
Your testimonies are my delight; they are my counselors.
Psalms 119:24
Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it.
Psalms 119:35
I will also speak of your testimonies before kings and shall not be put to shame, for I find my delight in your commandments, which I love.
Psalms 119:46-47
Let your mercy come to me, that I may live; for your law is my delight.
Psalms 119:77
I long for your salvation, O LORD, and your law is my delight.
Psalms 119:174
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