Happiness and Faith

I’ve heard of polls claiming that people of faith are generally happier than atheists, which of course as a Christian I find easy to believe. Scientific American reported that believers are happier (depending on culture) and a separate CNN report compared Twitter comments between atheist and believers and found more positive or happier comments among the Christian group than those who follow atheists. But if it is true that believers tend to be happier than nonbelievers, why wouldn’t everyone explore faith, if it comes with such promise?

Every poll, of course, is subject to interpretation. People naturally seek to justify the reason they think a certain way. Atheists, for example, say it’s the community that goes along with a faith culture that really makes a person happier, not necessarily the faith system itself. And those atheist twitter followers claim to be more thoughtful/analytical rather than emotional.

What I wonder, though, is how someone outside of a faith system interprets information like this without a faith filter. Atheists, on the whole, tend to think of those with faith as someone needing a crutch in life, someone weaker and in need of the emotional comfort provided by fairy tales. It stands to reason they wouldn’t allow a spiritual phenomena to play a part in the results.

But what if Christians are happier simply because they’ve discovered a satisfying relationship with our Creator? Nowhere in the Bible does God promise us a happy life. An abundant life, yes, in the sense of spiritual fulfillment—but happy? Jesus actually said don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will bring its own worries (Luke 12:22). That must mean our purpose in life isn’t happiness.

If not happiness, what is our purpose, then? Jesus summed it up this way: Love God with your heart, soul and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.

The obvious result of loving God and our neighbor is the community this secular study in Scientific American said is the real reason believers are happier. If you ask me that’s getting it backwards; the study is revealing a spiritual phenomena without calling it that.

🙂

And now I’d like to announce the winner of my most recent contest, Summer Reading Giveaway #2:

Cheryl L

Congratulations, Cheryl! I’ll be in touch to learn where to ship the books, and I hope you’ll enjoy these wonderful books as much as I did!

Please visit again next week, when I’ll be giving away four different and gently-used titles.