Christian Hedonism

If we pursue happiness in all the wrong places and in all the wrong ways, we will never find lasting happiness. We will get sadder rather than happier, and even give up the hope of ever finding happiness. Can we ever find true happiness? we think in despair.

That was the story of my teens and early twenties. But, by God’s grace, Proverbs 3:13–20 became my story, and I found the greatest happiness in God, a happiness that’s endured even through trying times.

That’s why, after persuading with the moral and physical benefits of wisdom, Professor Solomon encourages us to enroll in Wisdom University by describing the emotional benefits of wisdom.

God Approves the Pursuit of Happiness (3:13)

“Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding” (3:13). Blessed can be objective or subjective. Objectively, blessed means “approved by God.” Subjectively, it means “happy.” The context here (see vv. 17–18) focuses more on the subjective, but because this is happiness in the right things and in the right ways, the happiness is also objectively approved by God.

God built the desire for happiness into every person, but he also designed happiness in such a way that lasting, satisfying happiness can be found only in him. The pursuit of happiness is not a fundamental right, but a fundamental gift of God. He doesn’t say, “Stop wanting happiness.” He says, “Want happiness more, and get it more in me.”

God doesn’t condemn and squash the desire for happiness, but commends and satisfies it.

So where can I find the highway to happiness?

God Directs the Pursuit of Happiness (3:14–18)

Solomon contrasts two sources of happiness: wealth and wisdom. He’s not saying that wealth is the only alternative to wisdom. He’s focusing on the most common alternative to wisdom, the most common way people pursue happiness. As such these verses sample all the other places people try to find happiness: pleasure, power, popularity, education, drugs, and so on.

Let’s look at this happiness competition between wealth and wisdom and see how God uses it to redirect our pursuit of happiness. Verses 14–18 tell us that, compared to wealth, wisdom is more profitable, more valuable, more satisfying, more generous, more pleasant, more peaceful, and more fruitful.

Our sins are many, God’s wisdom is more.

What will be the result if I follow God’s directions for happiness?

God Satisfies the Pursuit of Happiness (3:17)

Happiness starts with the person who is wisdom, Jesus Christ (Matt. 11:19; 1 Cor. 1:24; Col. 2:3). He is wisdom because he is the solution to the greatest problem humanity has ever faced— sin. He is the answer to the greatest question humanity has ever asked—What must I do to be saved? He is the key to the hardest puzzle we’ve ever encountered—How can God be just and justify the ungodly?

The more we learn about the wisdom of God, the more we are stunned, the more we are in awe. He’s the happiest subject we could ever study, the happiest being we could ever know, and the one who makes us the happiest people in the world. That’s why Solomon says “Her [Wisdom’s] ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace” (3:17).7

Secular happiness is godless, but Christian happiness is God-full.

Changing Our Story with God’s Story

Remembering that proverbs are general rules with some exceptions, and proverbs are focused on the long term not the short term, we can say God’s word has produced more happiness in the world than all other books put together. God’s worship expands, thrills, and excites our hearts like nothing else. God’s works of creation, providence, and redemption are three further fountains of joy. God’s ways of obedience, service, and sacrifice pour delight into our hearts.

Summary: Can we ever find true happiness? Pursue happiness in God’s wisdom to find new wealth and new happiness in wealth (or the lack of it).

Question: How will you connect God’s provision of happiness with people’s pursuit of happiness?

Prayer: Happy God, thank you for giving, directing, and satisfying my desire for happiness with yourself.