My OperaHappiness . . . Pleasure . . . Joy
Tuesday, November 6, 2007 1:53:03 AM
Pleasure or Happiness or Joy
I saw a topic in another group that asked when was the last time something simple made you happy. I pondered that question and couldn’t really think of anything. I feel content on a Saturday morning when I can rest and have coffee on the porch. I feel satisfaction and a sense of purpose in a job well done or a poem that comes out right. Then I read a magazine article today that said there is a subtle but real difference between pleasure and happiness. The example for pleasure was food. You feel pleasure while you’re eating and when you finish eating the pleasure stops. That’s why people can overeat. The example for happiness was more like how you feel after you’ve accomplished something like, ohh . . doing your exercises or finishing a project. I’m not sure I get it. I have Dysthemia. That means chronic low grade depression with occasional major depressive episodes. I can’t remember a time when I felt “happy.” I had to seek the Lord many years ago to find that there is a huge difference between what the world calls happiness and what the Bible calls joy. Happiness is an emotion. Joy is a spiritual force that comes from indwelling of the Holy Spirit of Christ. I have absolutely experienced joy in the presence of God in prayer, or when studying His word. I have experienced joy in witnessing somebody accept the Gospel and turn their lives over to the Lord. I have watched an angry bitter woman blossom into a gentle, loving person because of a new relationship with God. So for me, for now, joy will have to be enough. Perhaps this is really more a statement of faith than a blog. I think I’m preaching to myself again.[/FONT][/SIZE}
I saw a topic in another group that asked when was the last time something simple made you happy. I pondered that question and couldn’t really think of anything. I feel content on a Saturday morning when I can rest and have coffee on the porch. I feel satisfaction and a sense of purpose in a job well done or a poem that comes out right. Then I read a magazine article today that said there is a subtle but real difference between pleasure and happiness. The example for pleasure was food. You feel pleasure while you’re eating and when you finish eating the pleasure stops. That’s why people can overeat. The example for happiness was more like how you feel after you’ve accomplished something like, ohh . . doing your exercises or finishing a project. I’m not sure I get it. I have Dysthemia. That means chronic low grade depression with occasional major depressive episodes. I can’t remember a time when I felt “happy.” I had to seek the Lord many years ago to find that there is a huge difference between what the world calls happiness and what the Bible calls joy. Happiness is an emotion. Joy is a spiritual force that comes from indwelling of the Holy Spirit of Christ. I have absolutely experienced joy in the presence of God in prayer, or when studying His word. I have experienced joy in witnessing somebody accept the Gospel and turn their lives over to the Lord. I have watched an angry bitter woman blossom into a gentle, loving person because of a new relationship with God. So for me, for now, joy will have to be enough. Perhaps this is really more a statement of faith than a blog. I think I’m preaching to myself again.[/FONT][/SIZE}
