Title: Relative Unhappiness and Absolute Happiness
Human happiness is relative. The same goes for misfortune. This is because good or bad luck is not determined according to absolute standards, but is felt compared to others. A shopkeeper is happy compared to a wandering unemployed person, but at the same time, compared to a successful entrepreneur, he looks shabby and even unhappy. Even the beauty who was selected for beauty in a beauty contest may be dissatisfied when compared to a beautiful woman. A person who earns 1 million won a month feels happier than a person who earns 500,000 won, but becomes unhappy when compared to a person who earns 3 million won.
As the cause of personal and social instability, we cannot help but cite a feeling of relative unhappiness or relative deprivation. Relative deprivation is when you compare yourself to others and feel that your situation is poor or unhappy. A person who suffers from this constantly strives to lower others rather than upright to make them look better than others, which always creates tension and friction. If this sense of relative poverty or deprivation spreads widely throughout society, the stability of that society will be greatly shaken. Because society is filled with dissatisfaction, a warm community life becomes difficult. There is a bleak and bloody atmosphere.
The Apostle Paul gave up all the greed of the world like a devoted partner in order to testify of the crucified but resurrected Jesus Christ. I thought it was like excrement. Rather, he endured all kinds of hardships and pains. In today's text, we reaffirm the difficulties the Apostle Paul faced, and we see again the happy appearance of the Apostle Paul, thankful even in the midst of those difficulties. Here we relearn his life of faith overcoming a sense of relative deprivation.
Let's take a look at the difficulties he faced.
There is no dead end in Jesus Christ. In Jesus, there is no such thing as “finished”. Rather, everything is always new. Everything will have a fresh start. That is why we can be thankful in the midst of difficulties.
Third, the apostle Paul was driven out by his enemies. All around was surrounded by enemies. But if it were us, we would have fallen into a tremendous sense of relative unhappiness that we were abandoned. But Paul never felt the unhappiness of being abandoned. As Stevan saw, he rejoiced to see “Jesus standing and cheering”. Dosdoevsky once said that when he was imprisoned in a solitary cell, whenever the small side door of the cell was opened, he heard the whispering of the Lord, "Be strong, brother. We are suffering together." He must have felt Paul's happiness in the cell.
Fourth, the Apostle Paul was beaten and fell. At times like these we will also feel relative unhappiness. It will spit out self-inflicted dissatisfaction. Paul, too, may have felt a sense of relative deprivation compared to the easy conditions of his alumni under Gamariel. But the Apostle Paul was happy that he did not perish and did not die. It seems that they had the freedom to win the war even if they were defeated in battle. Thank you for believing in the grace of the cross.
In this way, the characteristic of a Christian is not in not falling. It is not about avoiding tribulation. Rather, Christians are more often crushed, more embarassed, more persecuted, and more often turned down. However, it is the Christian who is able to rise again from the troubles by the grace of the cross.
Even Christians get into car accidents. I am grateful that he did not become disabled even though he suffered. Even if your nose is broken, you are happy that your nose is broken. I am thankful that I did not die even if I became disabled. Even when a Christian dies, he can give thanks in Jesus. The fact that the face of Stevan, who was stoned to death, was the face of an angel, clearly shows his happiness in his death. This is true happiness.
“We always carry in our bodies the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our bodies” (2 Corinthians 4:10). To say that he carries the death of Jesus deep within his body means that he holds the life of Jesus, the resurrection of Jesus, deep within his being. The Apostle Paul, who tasted the joy of victory in the resurrection from death, was able to overcome the relative unhappiness in any unfavorable conditions in the world. There is no need to make the shallow calculation that you have suffered more damage compared to others.
Jesus' death was the death of a grain of wheat. Just as a grain of wheat dies and decays and bears the fruit of abundant life, Paul experienced the abundant joy of life from the experience of Jesus' suffering and death, and he felt true happiness.
In this way, the pain and death of the cross are the bridge that connects relative misery to true happiness, and the key that opens the door to happiness in the midst of adversity. I also had an amazing experience at Seodaemun Prison in the summer of 1980.
One day, suddenly, a young guard opened the door to my cell and came in.
"Professor Han, I would like to sit in the professor's seat for a while. Please watch the entrance to the building to see if anyone is coming."
"You can't enter a prisoner's room if the guard isn't on duty, what's the matter?"
"No, if I sit in the professor's seat once, I think I'll be happy too, please keep the door." He sat in my seat and imitated me.
It seems that I looked happier than you. While imitating reading the Bible and sociology books
"It would be great if I could understand all these books like a professor..."
I was a sentry for a while. The prison guard briefly played the role of a prisoner. He was a young man who had a terrible sense of inferiority to his profession as a prison guard, so I think he was envious of me as a proud prisoner. In fact, my faith was weak and I couldn't shake the sometimes severe relative deprivation. However, I tried my best to be thankful for the suffering of Jesus, and it seems that my efforts seemed to be a proud feeling of happiness in the eyes of the guard.