Good Does Not Equal Happiness
For the record, I believe happiness is a good thing. I just had a happy week-end with friends at the Brudenell River Resort on Prince Edward island. Great friends we don’t get to see much anymore and tons of kids running around enjoying themselves… It was a good thing and I wish all week-ends (and week days too!) could be happy times. However, what is ‘good’ does not always bring happiness.
Most of us think of God as someone who should do for us what is good. One of the main issues we have with the idea that God allows the existence of evil is that we assume God should be obligated to conform to our definition of good…which would be to give us pleasure and allow us to avoid pain. The problem is, according to Christian doctrine, that’s not what God has in mind when he defines what is good.
The number one good, according to Christianity, is a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. That is what Christian doctrine teaches as the way we fulfill our ultimate purpose in life and realize what we were created for. If this relationship is what’s needed for true fulfillment, joy and peace…would preventing all pain and keeping humans in a state of pleasure help or hurt our chances of making a decision to follow Christ? If we were living a life without pain and suffering, would we feel the same need for God, or would more people miss out on what we were created for? If I was experiencing no pain or suffering and was basically satisfied with my life, I’m not so sure I would realize that I needed that relationship with God.
God Places Greater Value on Things Other Than Happiness
It seems that according to God, freedom, choice, and refining/growing/maturing both in ourselves and in our relationships with God and others are more important than pleasure.
Dr. William Craig likes to use the following analogy: We are NOT God’s pets that He placed in His terrarium here on Earth where He is obligated to do all He can to give us what we want to keep us happy. We are a lot more than that. ‘Happiness’ is not God’s goal for us. Ultimate peace and fulfillment and joy, however, is what He wants for us. This comes from a freely chosen relationship with Him. Freedom can not be found if the potential for evil is eradicated. A moral world is impossible without suffering. We cannot grow in our relationship with God or into stronger and better individuals without negative experiences.
God’s meaning of good is one of the keys in coming to an understanding, incomplete as it may be, of the reason why evil and suffering exist. Good does not equal happiness, as much as we would like all of our troubles in this world to disappear.
Getting a root canal to fix a toothache is a ‘good’ thing. So is eating brussel sprouts. Suffering can make us stronger and allow us to help someone else go through the same troubles. It can also draw us closer to ultimate human fulfillment in a right relationship with God. Evil and suffering are not incompatible with God’s desire to do what is ‘good’ for us…something that I for one need to remember when I’m not so happy with my own situation.
The other side of the Christian story is that our choices in this life will eventually lead to the eternal joy and peace and fulfillment that God wants for us. That sounds like a future state of happiness to me…we just can’t expect constant happiness along the way. According to the God I believe in, that’s not what’s best for us anyway.
I’m away again next week-end, so it may be another two weeks before I post again. Stay tuned and we’ll talk a bit more about freedom and growth and Christianity’s explanation of the existence of evil. Don’t forget to look to the right margin and ‘like’ my Rational Faith Facebook page…but only if you like it!
Make it a great week!
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