The pursuit of happiness has always been central to much of human life. It was so important to our founding fathers that they included “The pursuit of happiness” as one of the major rights of human life endowed by their creator. In every generation, happiness has always been big business. There is no lack of salesmen who will happily tell you how their products will make you happy. It might be a material possession, a new food, a new experience, a new feeling, a new thought, or any number of other things. Furthermore, anyone who has an e-mail address, a Facebook page, or any of the other social media accounts sees dozens of ads telling them how such and such will fulfill their lives and make them happy. Some even sell drugs without a prescription that will bring that sense of feeling good no matter what is happening in your life. When prescribed by doctors, there are some that have legitimate benefits, but all of them have limitations as far as real, lasting happiness is concerned.
Another big business is dealing with unhappiness. There are all kinds of drugs for depression, anxiety, and other maladies that can be treated. But there is also a push to promote different ways of thinking that will promote happiness and deal with our unhappiness. One of the more recent trends is “cognitive therapy.” Although it is more complex than this, It deals with changing the way we think. I’m not sure what is involved with the psychological therapy called cognitive, I am sure that the way we think affects our level of happiness. Solomon, 3000 years ago, said in Proverbs 4:23, “Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life.” Then two thousand years later, Paul tells the Philippians to think about good things. Philippians 4:8 says, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable if there is any excellence if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
Often, we are our own worst enemy when it comes to being happy. We feast on “feel bad” thoughts rather than on that which nourishes us. The New Living Translation of Proverbs 15:14 says, “A wise person is hungry for truth, while the fool feeds on trash.” The Message translations put it this way, “An intelligent person is always eager to take in more truth; fools feed on fast-food fads and fancies.” What we feed our minds has an impact on our happiness in a profound way. God has given us the food we need that will help in this regard.He even provides us with a virtual feast in the Bible designed to satisfy our hunger for truth. Jeremiah explains his experience with this banquet in chapter 15, verse 16. He says, “Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart.”