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We are in the middle of trying to understand why Americans are relatively unhappy. Before we continue to analyze the basic state of American unhappiness, it might be useful to discuss the difference between happiness and joy, two terms that are often indistinguishable.
Happiness has several definitions: 1) favored by luck or fortune; 2) notably fitting, effective, or well adapted as in a happy choice; and 3) enjoying or characterized by well-being and contentment. The root of happiness is the Old Norse and Old English word “Hap,” meaning luck or good fortune. The idea here is that those who are happy are those most favored by luck or chance.
Most dictionaries don’t make a serious distinction between joy and happiness. For example the Oxford dictionary defines joy as A feeling of great pleasure and happiness. The Merriman-Webster dictionary defines joy as the emotion of great delight or happiness. On the other hand, David Brooks, the New York Times columnist, has written a book that is centered on the distinction between Joy and Happiness. In a New York Times column he writes:
“Happiness usually involves a victory for the self. Joy tends to involve the transcendence of self. Happiness comes from accomplishments. Joy comes when your heart is in another. Joy comes after years of changing diapers, driving to practice, worrying at night, dancing in the kitchen, playing in the yard and just sitting quietly together watching TV. Joy is the present that life gives you as you give away your gifts.The core point is that happiness is good, but joy is better. It’s smart to enjoy happiness, but it’s smarter still to put yourself in situations where you might experience joy.”
In the New International Version of the Bible, joy appears 242 times while happiness only six times and happy only twenty times; in the King James version, joy occurs 187 times, happiness zero, and happy 25 times. Thus joy seems to be more important than happiness. Joy is often expressed as a character quality, not as an emotion. Joy is a Fruit of the Spirit, a quality, like patience and kindness that comes from being grounded in Christ (Galatians 5:22-23). It doesn’t depend on chance but on the grace of God.
Hugh Whechel discusses the biblical roots of happiness. He says, “In the Old Testament, the word ʾashrê means “well-being,” “flourishing,” and “happiness.” This word is most often translated into English as “blessed.” ʾAshrê is used in passages like Psalm 1, which starts, “Blessed/Happy/Flourishing is the man” (Psalm 1:1). ʾAshrê is used throughout the Psalms and Proverbs to describe the happy state of those who live wisely according to God’s design.
Psalm 1
1 Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither –
whatever they do prospers.
A blessed (happy) person is one who doesn’t do evil (walk in step with the wicked) or take his position with sinners or sit among those who mock good. The blessed man (the happy man) is the man who delights in the law of the Lord and meditates on that law, day and night. We should understand “Law of the Lord” is not limited to Torah, but rather refers to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Good News that because of Jesus’ sacrifice we are redeemed and made into “Children of God,” heirs of His Kingdom.
True happiness is not a result of circumstance or chance, it is a result of our choice, out choice to believe in and follow Jesus. When we do we are planted like a well-watered tree which shall not wither. Whatever the blessed man does will prosper.
