04-09-24

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
April 9, 2024
In May, I will be preaching on Psalm 98, but as I was doing some preliminary work on the passage, I was really struck by this section:

Shout triumphantly to the Lord, all the earth!
  Be happy!
  Rejoice out loud
  Sing your praises!

There is such joy and gladness radiating from those words. Here in the United States, where the numbers remain pretty high in comparison to other nations, when it comes to people claiming that religion is important to them, you would think that happiness and joy would be very high. Yet with every study that I have seen that looks at people’s happiness, contentment, inner-peace, or joy, the United States is outside the top 15, and some studies have us outside the top 25. There are many interesting attributes associated with those who claim a high level of happiness and contentment, and some might seem a bit counter-intuitive. Wealth is not a major factor, though people need to feel safe when it comes to the most basic needs. With that, generosity is a key factor in determining people's happiness and inner peace, though some might suggest it to be a bit of a chicken & egg thing—the more content one feels, the more generous one will be. What I find discouraging is how those under the age of 30 in the United States are continuing to describe themselves as less happy and content as compared to those ten years ago. I do not believe there is just one thing we could do to change all this, but I have a feeling there are a handful of intentional actions we could choose that would help reverse this decline. As you think about it, what might one of those be?

There is complete security in your love, O God, so I pray for the capacity to trust that love and find the peace that comes with that security. Amen.