Seeking joy in the wrong places

 Many people know of C. S. Lewis due to his writings. The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe is a favorite that has been turned into a movie. Perhaps his best known book, and my favorite, is Mere Christianity This amazing book offers a classic defense of the truths of Christianity, and reading it is sure to strengthen anyone's faith.

If one just read his books and didn't know his history a person would be surprised to learn that for much of his life Lewis was an atheist. He was friends with J.R.R. Tolkien who continually challenged him to rethink his atheistic beliefs. While teaching at Oxford he did begin to consider if Christianity might indeed be true, and one night he decided that God must exist for many of the reasons he wrote about in Mere Christianity. Of his experience he wrote that he came to Christ "kicking, struggling, resentful, and darting his eyes in every direction looking for a chance to escape. . .I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed; perhaps, that night the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England."

One reason he struggled so much with his decision was that he believed that if he gave his life to Christ he would lose his freedom and have nothing in life to enjoy. He addressed this in another excellent book Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life. What he learned when he became a Christian is that his joy was not found in his career, his degrees, his finances, his relationships or anything else he knew in life. His joy was found in his relationship with Jesus Christ.

Lewis' fears are common to many people. They fear that if they give their lives to Christ that it will suck the joy out of their lives. What they fail to realize is that these things they depend upon for joy really don't bring them joy. They are substituting joy for happiness. These things may bring them happiness for a season, but that is only true when everything is going well. Finances can bring one happiness until the economy goes south for awhile, and then our finances can bring us grief, fear and worry. Relationships can provide happiness, but they can also bring some of the deepest hurts we know in our lives if they fail.

True joy is not based on things that can fail but is based upon a relationship that can never fail. We celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ because we know that the things we most seek in life - love, hope, peace and joy - are only found in a relationship with Him. It is in that relationship that we find a foundation for our lives that will stand when everything around us seems to fail. It is the anchor we need when the storms of life threaten to blow us away.

2020 has been a difficult year for many people. Turning over a page on the calendar isn't going to suddenly make everything better. There will be challenges to be faced in 2021 as well. If you want to overcome those challenges I encourage you to make sure Christ is at the center of your life. In Him, and Him alone, you will experience true joy in the midst of whatever challenges the new year might bring. 

The gift of joy

Joy is a precious commodity these days. There is so much in our world today to rob us of our joy. We live in very troublesome, dark times, and it's often hard to find much joy in what we experience. But, part of the reason for that is we often seek joy in the wrong places.

It's important to understand the difference between joy and happiness. Happiness comes from the root word "hap" which refers to luck or chance. If things are going our way, we are happy. If things begin to go in a different direction, we become unhappy. Happiness is completely based upon circumstances.

True joy is not based on circumstances but upon a person, Jesus Christ. Our circumstances will often disappoint, but He never does. A relationship with Jesus Christ provides us with the solid foundation we need to experience joy in every circumstance.

Yes, Christians get discouraged. We can become frustrated. We can be deeply hurt. There are many things that can bring us unhappiness in our lives, but if we maintain our focus on our relationship with Jesus Christ we can remain joyful in every situation.

The gift of joy was given to us on that first Christmas morning when our Savior, Jesus Christ, was born. It is a gift given to anyone who will receive it. All we have to do to experience that joy is to invite Christ into our lives as our Lord and Savior. It is my prayer that you have done that and know the joy of which I write.

Does success bring happiness in ministry?

If success brought happiness then every time someone achieves a goal he or she should be happy. However, we know in the real world that is not always true. We may be happy about the momentary success, but it doesn't last. As soon as we come down from the temporary high our work and problems are staring us in the face. And, as Shawn Achor points out in his book, The Happiness Advantage, "With each victory, our goalposts of success keep getting pushed further and further out, so that happiness gets pushed over the horizon."

Achor has done extensive research on happiness and its impact on one's life and achievements. This research has shown that the common belief that success brings happiness is not true. In fact, the reverse is true. Happiness gives us the edge we need to achieve greater results in our endeavors. As Achor demonstrates, our brains are hardwired to perform best when they are filled with positive emotions such as happiness.

Not only do our emotions affect our own success, they also have an impact on those around us. Emotions leak. If we spend time around negative, unhappy people we are apt to find our own thinking to become negative and toxic. If we are the negative ones we are impacting those around us, co-workers, family, friends, with that same toxicity. Soon, our entire family or work force may begin to reflect our negativity in what they do spreading it even further.

Achor's studies have much to say to those of us in ministerial leadership. I've sat in on many pastor gatherings that were filled with frustration and anger with much of that negativity directed towards the congregations they were leading. I've visited worship services where the pastor lashed out at the congregation and then wondered why the church was declining and the ones who remained were not more involved in ministry. Speaking with one of the most committed Christians I've known after one such service, she told me this was a weekly occurrence, and after attending that church for years they were actively seeking another place to worship.

After 35 years in ministry I know how frustrating it can be. But, if we can't be excited about being called by God to serve a congregation I'm not sure what can excite us. If we can't feel hope for our congregation and see an exciting future for it, then there is no way anyone else will. Quite frankly, some pastors need to leave the ministry if they are unable to recapture the earlier excitement they felt when they began.

If you're miserable in the ministry I encourage you to read Achor's book. If he doesn't convince you that leaders must maintain a positive attitude if they want to influence those they are serving, then maybe it is time for you leave your church. They don't need their pastor spreading his or her toxicity around the congregation. But, if you read this book and become determined to recapture that earlier joy and excitement you once felt in the ministry you can enjoy a very rewarding ministry. Pray and ask God to help you once again find the happiness you once knew in ministry. That's a prayer He'll be glad to answer, and you'll be glad He did.