Happy vs. Holy

Rebecca Tekautz wrote a reflection on Relevant Online Magazine regarding the stark difference between pursuing happiness versus pursuing holiness. We’ve been conditioned by a consumeristic society to seek our own happiness above all else, and sometimes we fail to see how this collides with our call to pursue the life that Jesus has called us to. Happiness and holiness are not necessarily mutually exclusive, but it matters very much where your priorities and focus lie. And when we talk about pursuing holiness, let’s be clear that we’re talking about pursuing Jesus, not good behavior.

From the article:

I feel a little helpless, sitting back and watching as this adherence to happiness infects the Church like poison. Slowly, and sometimes silently, it seeps into our thoughts, our prayers, our relationships. 
We are drug addicts, endlessly searching for our latest fix. The moment the effects of our latest hit of happiness have worn off, we are in pursuit of the next. We cannot stop and sit in our pain, disappointment or emptiness.

Happiness is our idol. Why are we not pursuing holiness with the same passion with which we are pursuing happiness? How have we come to allow ourselves to put more trust in a fleeting emotion than in a God who says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness … Blessed are the poor in spirit … Blessed are those who mourn”?

Image by Electra Owens.  Sourced via Flickr.