Many gospels, both religious and secular, focus mainly on “me” – how to be “happy, healthy, and wealthy.”

To ask, “Does God want me to be happy (or to avoid suffering)?” is the wrong starting point.

The question to ask is not, “What God wants for me?” but “What God wants from me?” And what is that?

God wants to be loved and worshipped for Who He is, not for what He can do for us. Every parent understands this.

There is an irony. When we come to God for what He can give us, the happiness He would otherwise freely give us remains elusive.

But there is also a second irony. When we want only to love and worship God because He “is,” He finds immense pleasure in showering our lives (zoe) abundantly (perissos) us with the fruits of His Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23). In other words, happiness.

Happiness, it turns out, is the byproduct of seeking God, not what He can give us.

Until every church disciples every man…

Patrick Morley, PhD

Founder and Chairman, Man in the Mirror