Will Your Happiness Lead to Holiness?

by David Rollert

“Anything that makes me this happy could not be bad for me.”

“Surely, God wants me to be happy, right?”

“It feels too good to be wrong.”

From a humanistic point of view these comments sound accurate, and are common among people trying to justify sin. But, are these statements biblical and correct? To answer that question, let’s look at what John the apostle says:

“Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.” (1 John 2:15-17)

John directly states that just because something is pleasurable or makes us happy does not mean it is holy. Sin is enjoyable! Many people feel that sin makes them happy. But sin is never acceptable in the sight of God. There is a false assumption that often goes along with the statements made at the beginning of the article: “If I can’t have sinful pleasure, then I will not have any joy in life.” This may also be expressed as: “If I cannot have sinful pleasure, then I will be miserable and bored.”

At its core, this is the type of thinking demonstrated by addicts. This is partially because addiction rewires the brain to see their vice as the only source of pleasure, and partially because (consciously or unconsciously) the addict determines they WILL NOT truly enjoy anything except their vice. In this way the addict self-sabotages their own efforts to overcome their addiction.

Now, you may be thinking that none of this applies to you because you are not an addict. However, all sins are addictive. If there is a sin that you have not been able to fully overcome, then you probably have an addiction to that sin. So, what is the solution?

One element of the solution is deciding that you can take joy in godly things. Telling yourself that your only options are sin or misery is a self-sabotaging mindset. Don’t give into it! Instead, consciously decide that you will enjoy righteous activities far more than you ever enjoyed sin.

Another element of the solution is to start replacing sinful activities with godly activities. Don’t give yourself idle time to contemplate sin. And finally, remember that when you do fall into sin, you can always repent. For more, read 1 John 1:5-10.