now JESUS knew HIS audience. here HE is at the beginning of HIS first major public sermon and HE deals with what all people are looking for. of all the subjects HE could have chosen to speak on when HE started HIS public ministry HE chose the subject how to be happy. why? because HE knew that was what everybody was searching for but very few people find it.
you will find today that the accepted idea of happiness is this: having the right circumstances. it's "when and then" thinking. "when i get out of school, then i'll be happy." "when i get a job, then i'll be happy." "when i get married, then i'll be happy." "when i have kids, then i'll be happy." "when the kids leave home, then i'll be happy."
solomon over in ecclesiastes 2.1 (tev) said, i decided to enjoy myself and find out what happiness is. and in the rest of chapter 2 he said, i tried it all and i found three dead ends: accumulating things, experiencing pleasures, achieving success. they were all dead ends and those are the three things we spend our life trying to get. he was the wealthiest, he had all kinds of pleasure, he was the most successful man of his time. and can you feel what he is feeling in verse 17? all of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
the accepted idea of happiness is having the right circumstances. but GOD's way to happiness is having the right attitude.
just a thought from the front porch…
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