Introduction to The Story - Happiness

My Friend Dave eating a Kebab in Poland

I love studying economics. My wife isn’t as big of a fan. Once in a while, though, I get to explain to her some fancy economic theory. One theory is the law of diminishing marginal utility. It sounds complicated, but it’s quite simple. For instance, the other day my wife and I went to an all you can eat restaurant. I hadn’t eaten for a few hours, so the first bowl of food I just devoured. I was satisfied. The second bowl was delicious…I was very satisfied. The third bowl of food was good, but I was getting full so it really didn’t do much for me. Being the glutton I am, I went for a fourth bowl. Big mistake – my stomach was grumbling at me the rest of the night. Originally, each additional bowl brought more happiness, but at some point the opposite occurred. The more I had, the less happy I was.

Economists have found evidence that this principal even applies to money. There is no indication that those who earn more than $70,000 are any happier than those who don’t, and in fact they may have even more worries. And yet we expect “stuff” to bring us happiness. We daydream about the day that our bonus shows up in our checking account or our birthday present arrives in the mail. And it’s not just stuff, but life circumstances as well that we anticipate will bring us happiness. “If I make the team, if I get a degree, if I get the job, if we have a kid, if we buy a house, if I can retire early….” Notice: all of these things are good things! But the question isn’t if they are good. The question is: do they make us happy?

The other day I read Psalm 1. It starts out, “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night” (NIV).  When I read that, I noticed two keys to happiness - two things that will without doubt bring us happiness. The first is avoiding wickedness. It sounds simple, but the allure of sin is strong. (Isn’t it interesting that we consider them “forbidden pleasures” when in the end they really bring no pleasure at all?)But just as important as avoiding evil is delighting in God’s Word. We spend how many hours a day working harder to earn more money, pursuing a better career, making friends, improving our home, and seeking countless other pleasures? And how many hours a day do we spend doing what can actually bring pleasure - reading God’s word?

This week we are going to start reading a story. It’s not just anystory, but God’s story - or as many have called it, HIStory. I was excited when I heard about The Story because it is essentially what my wife and I did when we first started dating. At the time this book wasn’t around, but we read the key historical parts of the Bible starting at Genesis and going through Revelation in chronological order.  It’s confusing when you hear Isaiah say, “Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom” (Isaiah 1:10) unless you understand the context in which Isaiah wrote and the Bible history which he was alluding to. The picture of the Tree of Life in Revelation 22 (the last chapter of the Bible) is much clearer once you’ve read Genesis 2 (the third chapter of the Bible.) Not only is it easier to read the Bible once you understand the history, but as you see God working in and through the lives of others, I’m sure your faith will grow just like mine did.

I’m excited to read The Story with you!  I will try to provide some guidance through this blog to help you through the readings. I’ll raise questions to consider while reading, prayers or hymns that you and your family can pray after reading the section, and thoughts as to how the chapter applies to my life – and maybe even your life. I’ll also respond to any questions that may arise during our Sunday morning Bible study that Pastor Kuerth doesn’t have time to cover, and some additional material for those of you who like to really dig in.

If you spend time as a family catching up on the latest reality TV, I think you’ll find it even more fulfilling spending some time each week hearing about real people and how God worked in their life. Reality TV may entertain you, but spend time doing something that will certainly make you happy!

That’s not to say that you can’t watch any TV. Lately my wife and I have been watching the TV show White Collar. Each week a criminal, Neal Caffrey, teams up with an FBI agent, Peter Burke, to solve crimes involving counterfeiting and racketeering. While each week there is a new case, we also catch glimpses of another story: Neal Caffrey’s search for what happened to his lost love. The creators of the show only give us clues as to what has happened to her, but week by week you get a better understanding of the “big picture.”

God reveals to us History in a similar way. Each week we will read the story or histories of different individuals – Adam, Abraham, Moses, David, Peter, Paul. We will hear the accounts of different individuals, involved in different struggles, learning different truths about God and revealing important lessons for our lives. But they are all part of a bigger story – the story of our salvation. Just like we only get glimpses of what happened to Neal Caffrey’s lost love, God doesn’t give us answers to all the questions we may ask. He doesn’t provide all the details what heaven is like, or how the stars were really formed, or how Jonah could survive in the stomach of a fish. But in each chapter and each story, God reveals just what we need to know about the bigger story: the story of how he saved us from the consequences of our sin and saved us for eternal happiness in heaven.