Happiness is a fundamental human goal, but what does the Bible say about it?

The 20th of March marked the United Nations’ International Day of Happiness and the publication of the World Happiness Report. Both of which were born out of a UN resolution, which states that happiness is a fundamental human goal.

Essentially the report asks participants to rate their lives on a scale from zero to ten, with 10 being their best life. However, given that there’s no universal definition of happiness coupled with the vagaries of subjective, mood based, surveys what are we to make of this report?

Essentially the report asks participants to rate their lives on a scale from zero to ten, with 10 being their best life.

Perhaps unsurprisingly many Scandinavian countries rank highest, with Finland at the top, while conflict areas are at the bottom. Overall, the United Kingdom ranked twentieth out of 146 countries.

Significantly the report highlighted a decline in happiness amongst those under the age of 30 in the West, with the UK ranked 32 for young people. Further, for millennials happiness declined with each year of age, while for baby boomers it increased with age.  And the report states that negative emotions, are more prevalent amongst women in every region of the world.

So, if happiness is more than, or at least not limited to, a feeling – what is it?

But if happiness is a fundamental human goal, as the report implies, surely, we need to define what it is? Within the field of positive psychology some people argue that happiness is a positive emotion. While others warn against attaching happiness to a feeling because – as we all know – feelings come and go and so does our happiness.

So, if happiness is more than, or at least not limited to, a feeling – what is it? Biblically a cursory word study sees not so much the word happiness, but rather joy and gladness showing up in lots of “unhappy” situations. Jesus tells us to be glad when we are persecuted (Mathew 5:12), James encourages us to count it joy when we experience trials (James 1:2) and the apostle Paul rejoices when put in prison because the gospel is being preached. (Phil 1:12-14).

Have we as Christians got it all wrong, or are we simply bucking the happiness trend? Unfortunately, the happiness report does not talk about an individual’s faith, nor do we know how happy a Christian would rank compared to a non-Christian.

It is encouraging, however, that even within the field of positive psychology some prefer to speak about finding meaning through struggle rather than finding happiness. Perhaps they recognize what the Bible has always taught.

But either way the World Happiness Report is an opportunity to remind ourselves why as Christians we should be happy. And, happily, it has very little to do with our feelings or our circumstances.

Fundamentally our joy does not come from the subjective evaluation of our lives, but the objective truth of the gospel – that we are redeemed and on our way to an eternity with God. The space between the already [salvation] and the not yet [glorification] is where we find ourselves. Sometimes life feels happy and sometimes it most certainly does not, but that does not change the certainty of biblical truth.

A fact that was brought home to me recently at a women’s testimony evening. Most of the women’s stories were marked with profound losses such as infertility, the death of a child and spousal abandonment. And yet as one woman said, through many tears, “it’s not all bad.”

How could she say that together with all of the other women? Precisely because each had a resilient hope rooted in the faithful love of God, who has promised to sustain them and never leave them. I think we may have just defined happiness!