From the Desk of Jeff King

The pursuit of happiness

Apart from God, man labors to find happiness. It is elusive and fleeting. We see this struggle develop in the movie The Pursuit of Happyness (sic), which is inspired by a true story. Chris Gardner and his young son are homeless on the streets of San Francisco. A failed marriage and business devastate him. In sheer desperation, Gardner joins a brokerage firm as an unpaid intern. He climbs the corporate ladder and earns millions as an investment banker, making him, we presume, a happy man.

Except for a brief scene when Gardner, played by Will Smith, attends chapel service at a homeless shelter, God is absent from his pursuit. We can admire Gardner for the devotion to his son and his resolve to climb out of poverty. But can wealth and corporate success buy happiness? Solomon wrote in Ecclesiates 5:10, "He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity." The first chapter of the book of Psalms offers a blueprint for happiness, and it is not the way of the world:

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.

The Hebrew word for "blessed" above is 'esher, meaning happiness, bliss or blessing. To find true happiness the passage suggests we: 1) Avoid wickedness; 2) Take pleasure in God's Word. The law refers to Torah, the first five books of Moses. 3) Ponder or study Scripture throughout the day. A person can take pleasure in the Word by having an intimate, personal relationship with Messiah Yeshua, the author of the Word. Happiness is the fruit of making Him our pursuit.