Title: Possession and happiness
possession and happiness
2006-01-15
I. Entering
In the past, all humans have the nature to seek happiness, and in order for such humans to be happy, we first learned about what humans are (about human existence) and who we are (about human identity). We looked at the biblical point of view. Today, in this time, we are going to look at what the true happiness of human beings so desperately means, and what it means to possess that happiness.
II. man's misfortune
The true happiness of human beings can be seen in a certain sense in having rather than being. You can be happy when you have what you want. Then human unhappiness is ultimately related to the problem of possession.
A. When you don't have what you want
Happiness is when you have something you want and you have it, whereas unhappiness is when you do not have what you really want. (Example - a gift seems to be a gift that makes you happy when you receive what you normally want)
B. Possessing what you want but evil
If it is something you really want and possess, but it is ultimately evil that destroys or harms you, it is not possessions that bring happiness, but possessions that bring you unhappiness. (eg taking drugs)
III. Human happiness: owning what you want
A person's happiness lies in owning what he wants. But before we look at the matter of the object of possession of what we should possess, we must first consider the meaning of the word 'own'. Because only the satisfaction of true possession can be the object of possession that brings happiness.
A. Meaning of ‘own’
1. Be available when you want it
It can be said that the resource exists only when it is available and can be used whenever one wants.
2. Don't be afraid to lose
If you have but fear of losing, you cannot be happy because of that fear (eg, emperors who owned but were not happy)
B. If all of these are met
However, there are people who are not happy to own things that they have an unlimited supply of what they want and have no fear of losing. It is the problem of human desire that cannot be satisfied. Infinite human desires outstrip the supply of resources, so human beings are always bound to feel deficient. Therefore, even if the above conditions are satisfied, it is concluded that if we do not control human desires that cannot be satisfied, we cannot reach true possession. Even David, a man of God, could not be happy when he could not control his desires even though he had received all that he could enjoy in the world. If you do not control your desires, you will have no choice but to live in poverty no matter what you have. So, what do you need to own to be truly possessive?
IV. possessions that bring happiness
A. Must not be created
All things that exist in this world started from nothing, and all created creatures are only temporary ones that are born, die, flow, and disappear in time. It was created by God and has no original identity. Therefore, the created things seem to have them, but they will disappear someday. Pursuing the things of this earth is like chasing things that do not exist, it is like chasing after the vanity. So, what do we need to have in order to enjoy true happiness? There is no one we can long for but the eternal, unchanging, and perfect God. Think of all things from the perspective of eternity. Aren't these momentary things that will disappear tomorrow morning? It is not only an object that gives happiness on this earth, but only something that can be rented in eternity to give true happiness. Like the confession of the psalmist in the text, things that are happening on this earth are not everything. There will come a day when he will take off the veil of his flesh and stand before him just as he saw the Lord in the sanctuary. We will see the glory we will receive and the misery they will receive. True happiness is not in having many things on earth, but in being close to the Lord.
B. Possessing God: Only when we have an eternal, unchanging, and perfect God can we be happy. So what does it mean to have him?
1. It is not about confessing that there is no life without God.
Simply acknowledging the existence of God and having a fatalistic thought that we cannot escape from God does not mean we have God. You must enjoy Him to truly possess Him.
2. You must be able to enjoy Him to truly possess Him
To enjoy means to rejoice in it, and that pleasure should be the ultimate goal. It means that God is the ultimate purpose of my joy, joy, and love. People only love what they consider beautiful and cherish. Love is the movement of the heart, soul, and spirit to determine the ultimate object to love and to enjoy it constantly. To love and rejoice in God, who is eternal, unchanging, perfect, and beautiful, and his joy is the ultimate goal, and this is to enjoy Him. Only knowing God and possessing God can bring true satisfaction and happiness.
V. CONCLUSION AND APPLICATION
Everything in this world is passing. Can we say that human beings are truly happy while rejoicing and loving beings inferior to themselves? Augustine said: “Let me remember you, let me get to know you, let me love you, and add these things more and more to me through all the days I change to perfection” This could be our true happiness. We have true happiness when we leave behind all the changing things in this world that we meet, part, and rejoice and mourn, and rejoice in Him alone, free from the constant pouring of desires. Christ came so that people who do not know these truths can live a happy life by transcending pain, trials and turbulence and enjoying God. No matter what in the world comes to bring us unhappiness, true peace of mind cannot be lost when we are in Him who is eternal and secure.
May you become believers who are not shaken by circumstances by possessing God in full every day. “Lord, I am yours and you are mine” 2006-01-15