Rev. David Holwick
First Baptist Church
West Lafayette, Ohio
December 2, 1984
True Happiness
Matthew 5:1-12
According to a sociologist, in the 18th century the goal of parents was to have their children survive into adulthood. In the 19th century, the goal of parents with for their children to get good jobs. Today in the 20th century, parents want their children to be happy.
Some would even say that happiness is the goal of our whole culture. The 1970s were called the "me decade" and we still reflect it. We want to improve our bodies, our minds, and our relationships. I think all of these are good things. But I also notice how miserable so many people are, in spite of their quest for happiness.
One famous American who lived for happiness was Ernest Hemingway. Hemingway grew up in a staunch Christian home -- his father had considered becoming a missionary. However, Ernest had other goals for his life and left his childhood faith far behind him. He became a writer and a thrill seeker. He hunted big game, fought in several wars, married four women and became an alcoholic. Toward the end of his life Hemingway said, "I lived in a vacuum that is as lonely as a radio tube when the batteries are dead and there is no current to plug into." A few years later he committed suicide. [illustration #2481]
We want more than anything else to be happy. Yet multitudes experience the exact opposite. And this isn't the case only for unbelievers. Many Christians are just as miserable as their neighbors. It happens, but God doesn't want it to be this way. God's goal is the same as it is for a 20th century parent -- he wants his children to be happy. This is made clear in the Sermon on the Mount, which contains some of Jesus' most important teachings, and on which I am basing this series. It is entirely appropriate that his sermon starts with the Beatitudes. Even non-Christians are familiar with them: "...the meek shall inherit the earth, ... blessed are the peacemakers." These phrases have entered our everyday vocabulary.
The key to the Beatitudes is the word "blessed." Many modern translations like the Living Bible and the version called Good News For Modern Man translate this word as "happy." To some liberal scholars the Beatitudes become a system for finding positive mental health. If you're not happy, then be meek, pure, and peaceable, and happiness will soon follow.
There is some truth to this approach but the Beatitudes involve much more. For one thing, the English word "happy" is based on the word "hap" which means chance. Just as the word "haphazard" means hit or miss, the word happiness refers to an emotion which depends on the chances and changes of life. Human happiness can come it can go. The blessedness of a Christian, however, is unchangeable. In John 16:22 Jesus says, "no one will take away your joy."
One thing to remember is that the joy or blessedness Jesus is referring to in these verses is not based on human emotions. Verse four sounds dumb if it says, "Happy are those who mourn," or verse ten which says, "Happy are those who are persecuted." Jesus is not talking about emotions here. He is declaring not what they may feel like, but what God thinks of them. Blessedness is a status, sort of like being in the third grade. You may not feel like a third grader, but if your principal says you are, then you are.
God's blessing is made clear in the second part of each verse. It involves possessing the kingdom and inherited the earth. Those who are blessed receive mercy, they see God, and are called his sons. All of these expressions are concerned with what we would call salvation.
One question is whether this blessedness is earned or reflected. It other words, do you have to be meek, merciful, and pure in order to be saved? Or is it a matter of being saved, and then starting to reflect these values? In my opinion, if the Beatitudes or any part of the Sermon on the Mount have to be taken as requirements for salvation, then no one could be saved. No one is pure enough on their own to see God. No one is merciful enough.
I believe the whole Sermon on the Mount is primarily addressed to those who are already disciples of Jesus. As Christians we should strive to be meek and merciful and pure, just like our savior Jesus is. Just as the qualities in the Beatitudes should describe every Christian (at least in the ideal) so the blessings of the eight Beatitudes are given to every Christian.
You could say that the eight qualities describe the responsibilities of being a citizen of God's kingdom, and the eight blessings describe the privileges. This is what the enjoyment of God's rule means.
Another question is whether this blessedness is limited to our future in heaven, or can be experienced right now. I think both are true. The future aspect is emphasized in verse 12, which describes the reward in heaven. The present aspect is mentioned in the first beatitude when it says, "theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Many times Jesus stresses that the kingdom is something we can receive, inherit, or enter right now. In the same way, we can obtain mercy and comfort now, can become God's children now, and in this life our hunger and thirst can be satisfied.
All these things are possible right now, but they are not guaranteed till we get to heaven. This is one reason many believers are unhappy. We can become so eager for the benefits of God's kingdom that we want to force him to meet our schedule.
Another failing is when believers seek the blessings and forget the responsibilities. We may want to feel God's forgiveness in a concrete way, while at the same time we are storing up the bitterness and resentment toward another person.
When we are in the state of being approved by God, happiness (emotional) can follow. As Jesus says in John 10:10, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."
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Typed on February 2, 2005, by Wendy Ventura of Ledgewood Baptist Church, New Jersey
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