Saturday, June 28, 2008

The Pursuit of Happiness


 PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS
This is the most abused term nowadays. Everybody seems to be always in pursuit of happiness. Happiness is something very temporary. It is the attainment of a short term goal. It is the satisfaction of the immediate needs of man. But is the pursuit of happiness beneficial to man in the long run? Remember, the pursuit of happiness is anchored in the immediate gratification of man's wants. People call it freedom to do what they want to do, without any restrictions , without any fear. They call it freedom from fear. But where does this pursuit of happiness leads man?

To tell you the truth, it leads man to perdition and eventually, to slavery to sin. Sin is something man enjoys for it is a violation of a restriction or command, and man loves to violate every command and every restriction there is. But John 8:34 says, "Jesus replied, 'I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin." Why? Because although sin is enjoyable at the start, it becomes addictive, and without man noticing it, it eventually becomes the master of the sinful man. It attains a life of its own. Man, who used to enjoy and wallow in sin, now becomes entangled in its deadly web and is unable to disobey the harsh voice of its tyrant master and break free from its strangle hold. And man becomes more miserable than when he first started.

Not only did he veer away from the dictates of his conscience, he has chained himself to slavery under the grip of the lord of this world- Satan. And in the end, the pursuit of happiness becomes a short cut on the road to hell. The Bible warns us about this when it says, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." (Matthew 7:13-14) Let us be included in the few who enters the narrow gate and eventually finds eternal life.

Tags: Pursuit of Happiness, Freedom From Restrictions, Freedom From Fear, Narrow Gate, Destruction, Eternal Life

Posted by: Mel Avila Alarilla

20 comments:

Sameera Ansari said...

Very wise post Mel.People just waste their lives away in pursuing something which only evades them the more they try to attain it.Happiness is just a state of mind and nobody else or nothing else should have a say in it.

Thank God you and your family are alright.Take care my friend.God Bless You and your loved ones always.

krystyna said...

Hi Mel,
very well said.
Happines is a choice. When we get up in the morning and put our life, job, health, problems,..etc, in God's hands ...
we chose the best for our life.
God knows what is good for us in this moment in our life.
From Psalm: "this is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it".

krystyna said...

Have a blessing, happy Sunday!

Mel Avila Alarilla said...

Hi Sameera,
I agree with you. Happiness is a state of the mind. Most of the things we pursue only bring us temporary satisfaction but never happiness. Thanks for your concern. I highly appreciate that my friend. God bless you and your loved ones always.

Mel Avila Alarilla said...

Hi Krystyna,
Thank you so much my friend. Yes, happiness is putting our very lives in the hands of an Almighty God who knows best what is good for us. Thanks for your visit and greetings. I really appreciate that. God bless you and your loved ones always.

Anonymous said...

i used to have this thought in my head that i wanted to be happy now. in fact i wanted happiness yesterday. that's how impatient i was. but God has been teaching me that the happiness He wanted me to have is long lasting and that is only achievable when i learn how to wait for God's timing.

Mel Avila Alarilla said...

Hi sis Pia,
How right you are. True happiness is doing the will of God and living to give Him pleasure. True happiness and joy will eventually be felt by us when we see the Lord face to face and
bask in His glorious presence. Thanks for the visit and inspired comments. God bless you and your loved ones always.

Keshi said...

Happiness should not be a CHASE in the first place.

I love this post!

Keshi.

Noushy Syah said...

Hi Mel,
Hope you and family are always fine and happy.

I do agree as what Krystyna mentioned..that happiness is our choice.We surely have the choice whether to be happy of something or not..it's all in the mind,just like we could turn negativities positively..

TC my friend.

Summer said...

Doing what simply makes you feel good or "happy" doesn't really mean you're enjoying freedom. well, not in its true sense. Authentic freedom is doing what is just and right. Happiness, as cliche as it may sound, is really just within you - in your heart, where love grows... where Jesus is. Enjoying the present worldly things only bring minutes of happiness but sacrifices and service to God brings eternal joy. God bless!

And hope you and your family, brother Mel, are doing fine. :)

Mel Avila Alarilla said...

Hi Keshi,
Thanks for your visit and your point of view. I respect that. God bless.

Mel Avila Alarilla said...

Hi Noushy,
Thanks for your visit too and for your point of view. Yes, happiness is a state of the mind like what Sameera said. We can choose to be happy or not. Thanks again and God bless you and your loved ones always my friend.

Mel Avila Alarilla said...

Hi Samar Bloggirl,
You made my heart sing with your comment my sister. I agree with you. To me, the essence of true happiness is to have God within our heart and enjoy the bliss of His companionship. Thanks for the Spirit filled comments. God bless.

nippercatshome said...

If we choose to be happy, then things don't seem so bad, but if we choose sadness, that causes much grief, and negative thinking. Happiness makes people around you feel happy to, it can be addicting, have a great day...Mary

Preetilata【ツ】 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Preetilata【ツ】 said...

First of all i thank God as u n ur family members r safe.

the post is very much insightful... happiness is not something which needs to be chased..infct it is a state of mind. yes sin is something which man enjoys ..n later becomes its slave...so very true... bad habits r one example of those.. Thnx 4 d post Mel..it teaches us a lot.

btwn m bk to blogging agn... thnx 4 not forgetting me when i ws away 4 so long... u r awaited on my blog my fren.

may god bless u n ur family always

tk cr
:):):)

Mel Avila Alarilla said...

Hi Mary,
Thanks for your visit and your insightful comments. Truly, happiness is within and not without. We may be surrounded with all the wealth and pleasures in life and still be unhappy and unfulfilled. Thanks again and God bless.

Mel Avila Alarilla said...

Hi Preetilata,
Thanks that you will be blogging again. Yes, I will visit your blog since I always enjoy reading your wonderful posts. We can choose to be happy inside by dwelling on the positive things in our lives. Thanks for your expression of concern. I really appreciate that. Thanks again and God bless.

Lena said...

you know, Mel, i never believed in this term. Happiness cant be pursued, it is simply waste of time.

Happiness is something that should be within. :)

Mel Avila Alarilla said...

Hi Lena,
Yes, I agree with you. Happiness is really from within. Thanks for your visit and comments. God bless.


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