Are You Chasing Happy or Holy Today?

Everyone is chasing SOMETHING. You, me, your pastor, your best friend…everyone.

This is not only about chasing money, possessions or success like I did early in my faith walk. Our “chase” in life can be focused on anything that has us choosing the happy path over the holy path.

From the garden forward, we have grappled with what we think is a choice between happy and holy. It’s not that at all. The happy path flashes the world’s allure across our mind’s cinema and tempts our hungry heart. But it’s a LIE that leads to excruciating pain after we walk through a tunnel of emptiness.

TRUE HAPPINESS is found in God and our fellowship with him in the blessings we experience on earth and the promise of eternity in heaven. When our holiness is perfect, our happiness will be perfect.

God’s holiness is the gateway to true happiness.

“Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods.” Psalm 40:4

OLD-STYLE REVIVAL

It’s easy to view holiness today through a 21^st Century lens of technological wonder and modern advancement that makes living a holy life a barrier to imitating Christ. This mindset has largely replaced our association of holiness with revival tents and preachers selling a message of moral purity behind the soaring serenade of a gospel choir.

The result is a departure from our mandated call to holiness:

“Be holy, because I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:16

SO WHAT DO WE DO?

We must restore the timeless significance of holiness as the foundation of God’s hand on our life.

Of course holiness demands a commitment to moral purity, but its central tenet is to be “set apart” or “dedicated” to God. Being “good” and moral purity comes out of our holiness.

We are called to be holy ahead of being called to be good.

For me, I ask God to help me stay focused on holiness and the happiness it produces—in that order. And I ask for his strength to keep me from succumbing to the allure of chasing happiness over holiness.