They’ll read it and say, “Oh, you meant joy when you said happiness.”

No I don’t. I mean happiness. I know the difference between happiness and joy.

Let me start off by saying that as far as I can understand the Bible and God’s promises, happiness is never promised by God. And I get nauseated when men leave their wives for some you-know-what or wives divorce their husbands on the grounds of “I need to find happiness” because “God wants me to be happy.” Gimme a break.

No, God wants you to be HOLY. Happiness is a by-product of holiness, NOT the other way around. When am I closest to God? When my spirit is most like and lost in His. When is He most pleased with me? When I am closest to being mistaken for His Son, Jesus.

So, confession time: I struggled with coming in to work today with a good attitude. I know people think pastors should always be gleeful and skipping, but guess what? We don’t do a lot of skipping.

And when I find myself a bit pouty or grumpy in my spirit, I find that it really boils down to me saying to me: “Be happy.” And not just once, but repeatedly. And I’ve found that I’m winning the fight against myself. Good news, because I’d rather win than lose. And I’m winning.

The term “discipline of happiness” has been floating in my mind today. Now, as you can tell I fully acknowledge that me being happy isn’t topping God’s wish list. And the discipline of happiness is exercised when I allow God’s Spirit to lead me from wallowing to worshipping.

Because in the truest practical sense, what good does wallowing do? What point does grumpiness serve me? What perks do I gain from a negative attitude?

Share your thoughts. I’d love to hear them.