Pursuit of Happiness

I struggle with this question.

On the one hand, let's be honest, I pursue it everyday. Who doesn't want to be happy? If you pursue a bad state of being, we call you a masochist and give you happy drugs.

On the other hand, what would Job say? After everything was taken away from him and he sat in ashes in mourning demanding an answer from God? I guess the very nature of the fact that Job demanded an answer shows that he believed he had the right to be happy--after all, he lived a righteous life. So the appropriate question would be, what would God say? God swept in and said, Where were you when I created everything? You have no right.

But on the other hand, a piece of the fruit of the Spirit is joy, which we are called to practice. Now, before you tell me, well, there you have it. Joy and happiness are two completely different things, let me say, I don't think so. I think we've made them two different things to say why one is okay and one is not okay. But look, first of all, at the Merriam-Webster definition:

2 a: a state of well-being and contentment : joy

The first definition, they tell you is obsolete, so we default to 2a.

And consider, second of all (or reverse the order, whichever), its use in the English translations of the Bible:

But the godly are happy; they rejoice before God and are overcome with joy.
(Psalm 68:3--The Hebrew uses two different words, although their roots
appear to be related.)
Happy is the one who endures testing, because when he has proven to be genuine, he will receive the crown of life that God promised to those who love him.
(James 1:12--The Greek term is "blessed, happy, fortunate" and is the same one used in the beatitudes.)

Ah, so here is the suffering, which is my problem. If we expect to suffer (which Jesus told us we should) and we are to be happy/joyful, how does that fit?

Here's the thing: don't we all know the answer? Yes, yes, we suffer and are to find our joy and hope in Christ. Absolutely.

Maybe I'm trying to make this more difficult than it is, but is that the same as pursuing happiness? So we should always be pursuing contentment in Christ, right? We all know that. Paul told us that in Philippians: the secret of being content--doing all things through the One who strengthens us.

Okay, so let's get down to my real reason for all this babble (Merriam-Webster: 1 a: to talk enthusiastically or excessively b: to utter meaningless or unintelligible sounds--thank you). How do we know when to get out and when to endure through?

No trial has overtaken you that is not faced by others. 9 And God is faithful: He 10 will not let you be tried beyond what you are able to bear, 11 but with the trial will also provide a way out so that you may be able to endure it. 1 Corinthians 10:13

Well that's about as much help as an employee at Wal-Mart (don't even get me started on that!). Way out or endure it? Which one, Paul? Make up your mind!

How do you know when to quit the miserable job and find a new one? How do you know when to leave a ministry that seems to be going nowhere?

And then there's the flip side. Pursuing happiness: pursuing a state of contentment. Of course, our contentment in God is the basis. But what about pursuing a felicitous situation? Is it okay to save up for a new book or that HDTV or retirement or a dress or an iPod? In Acts 2, the believers basically lived as communists (in its true sense, not in the Lenin sense), or in hippie communes. They put all they had together, as one. Is that descriptive or prescriptive? I'm assuming it's descriptive, but even if it is, is it a situation we should work towards today? And, if so, how far do we take that? Believers in my suburbs? In the nation? In Africa and Guatemala and the nations?

These are hard questions for me. They affect everything: what I do with my time (work and ministry) and what I do with my money. And relationships, come to think about it.