11/04/2025
When we prioritize the pursuits of our lives, we most likely list the pursuit of happiness near the top. After all, we want to be happy. I want to be happy. You want to be happy. The pursuit of happiness is so prized in our country that the Declaration of Independence includes it as one of the three unalienable rights.
If we’re not careful, however, the pursuit of happiness can become a recipe for misery. According to Adam Grant, author of Think Again, psychologists have found that the more people value happiness, the less happy they tend to be. There’s even evidence that placing a robust focus on gaining happiness is a risk factor for depression. Why?
One reason is that we get so busy evaluating life that we fail to experience it. A second factor is that we spend too much time striving for peak happiness, and we overlook the fact that happiness depends more on the frequency of positive emotions than on intensity. A third culprit is that in our quest for happiness, we overemphasize pleasure at the expense of purpose. Finally, psychologists have discovered that happiness flows more from social engagement than from independent activities. An overly ambitious drive for individual pursuits can lead to loneliness, rather than happiness.
This all came to a head for me on a recent trip I had to Austria for TCM (tcmi.org). I was able to spend a day in Vienna before I left for Haus Edelweiss, where I would be teaching pastors and church leaders from Eastern Europe. I thought to myself that finally I would be able to rest and find moments of solitude and happiness.
Indeed, there were moments of rest and solitude, but I also discovered that you don’t find happiness simply by changing your surroundings. Happiness is an internal state that flows from something much deeper than external circumstances. If you’re not a joy-filled person at home, you won’t suddenly become joy-filled simply because you find yourself in a different location. Ernest Hemingway wrote, “You can’t get away from yourself by moving from one place to another.”
From the Christian perspective, happiness is a by-product of what Jesus pours into us. We pursue HIM, and HE changes our hearts and brings us HIS joy, regardless of whether we are at home, at Haus Edelweiss, or in the hospital.
This is the “secret” Paul learned, as he described it to the church in Philippi. “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances…. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:11-13).
Happiness is discovered more than pursued. When we pursue Jesus, we get happiness thrown in, whether we’re cleaning the dishes at home or walking through the streets of Stephansplatz in Vienna. Let’s make sure we have the right pursuits, and we will discover the right results in due time.
