Week Forty-Six, 2017
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. – Proverbs 9:10
Albert Einstein is noted as one of the most intelligent man who has ever lived. His discoveries such as the theory of relativity are landmarks in scientific research.
However, a recently disclosed finding rightfully credits him with an even greater discovery. In 1922, in lieu of a tip, he gave a bellboy a note. It contained Einstein’s “theory of happiness. Recently it sold at auction for $1.6 million.
letter
His theory?: “A calm and modest life brings more happiness than the pursuit of success combined with constant restlessness” Wow, I think he nailed it.
We live in a world or certainly a country, that thrives on abundance and the pursuit of more. As Einstein so rightly wrote that happiness comes from a modest life and one who pursues success lives a life of restlessness.
Solomon, considered to also be one of the wisest men to live said: I observed everything going on under the sun, and really, it is all meaningless–like chasing the wind. Ecclesiastes 1:14. Solomon begins with the prime observation: “all is vanity.” The word “vanity” does not mean self-admiration in this context. It means “useless.”
But for the Christ follower, there is more than happiness….. it is joy. An ungrounded, dangerous separation of joy from happiness has infiltrated the Christian community. The following is typical of the artificial distinctions made by modern Christians:
Joy is something entirely different from happiness. Joy, in the Biblical context, is not an emotion. . . . There is a big difference between joy and happiness. Happiness is an emotion and temporary; joy is an attitude of the heart. You’d think the distinction between joy and happiness is biblical. It’s not.
John Piper writes, “If you have nice little categories for ‘joy is what Christians have’ and ‘happiness is what the world has,’ you can scrap those when you go to the Bible, because the Bible is indiscriminate in its uses of the language of happiness and joy and contentment and satisfaction.”
There are more than one hundred Bible verses in various translations that use joy and happiness together.
Be happy and have a joyful day.
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SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES
FIRST THINGS FIRST:
In First Things First, Stephen Covey tells a story that one of his associates heard at a seminar. The presenter pulled out a wide-mouth gallon jar and placed it next to a pile of fist-sized rocks. After filling the jar to the top with rocks, he asked, “Is the jar full?”
The group replied, “Yes.”
He then got some gravel from under the table and added it to the jar. The speaker jiggled the jar until the gravel filled the spaces between the rocks. Again, he asked, “Is the jar full?” This time, the group replied, “Probably not.” The speaker then added some sand and asked, “Is the jar full?” “No!” shouted the group.
Finally, the speaker filled the jar to the brim with water and asked the group the point of this illustration. Someone replied that you could always fit more things into your life if “you really work at it.”
“No,” countered the speaker. “The point is, if you don’t put the big rocks in first, there won’t be any room for them.”
This illustration speaks to the issue of priorities. What are the big rocks in your life?
IMPORTANT:
Over the triple doorways of the cathedral of Milan there are three inscriptions spanning the splendid arches. Over one is carved a beautiful wreath of roses, and underneath it reads, “All that which pleases is but for a moment.”
Over the other is sculptured a cross, and there are the words, “All that which troubles us is but for a moment.”
But underneath the great central entrance to the main aisle is the inscription, “That only is important which is eternal.”
A bum came up to me and said, “Lend me $20 until payday.” I said, “Sure, but when is payday?” The bum replied, “How should I know? You’re the guy with the job.” Henny Youngman
I don’t want the cheese, I just want to get out of the trap. Spanish proverb
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QUOTES YOU CAN USE
Worship isn’t about a purpose. It is about a person. Ken Whitten
You can’t control the assumptions others make about you. But you can manage your behavior, and you can manage the assumptions you make about the behavior of others. David C. Borchard
Becoming a Christian is not a matter of accepting a set of beliefs, but becoming a new person in relation to God and others through Christ. Maxie Dunnam
Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclination, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence. John Adams (1770)
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©2017 John Grant | Florida State Senator (Ret.) | 10025 Orange Grove Drive | Tampa, FL 33618