Seeking Righteousness

Don't worry, be happy.

Yes, I might be showing my age, but when I was younger, this song was popular.  Bobby McFerrin, the song's writer and performer, had a wide and varying career.  However, he will forever be remembered for that song.

Why?

Because, deep down, as Americans and as human beings, we just want to be happy.

Don't believe me?  Look at any commercial on television.  All of them have the exact same message:  buying this product will make your happier.  This new car is what you need to be happy.  You need a new kitchen appliance to make you happy.  You're pet needs a new toy so he (and conversely you) can be happy.

Happy sells.  No one wants to be unhappy.  We have terms for people like that.  We call them "party poopers."

Yet, Jesus tells us that pursuing happiness - despite what commercials, businesses and culture tell you - is not the point of life.  He clearly states in Matthew 5:6 that we should "hunger and thirst for righteousness."

In other words, we should desire to be like Jesus.  We should desire to spend time with him and emulate him.  THEN, we will be satisfied.

Pursuing happiness will never leave you satisfied.  It will leaving you wanting more.  As soon as you have something that makes you happy, something else will come out that makes you happiness obsolete.  A new car is only new until you have for a couple of months.  A new house becomes lived in quite quickly.  New technology is old the minute you start using it.

Seeking happiness ends with continual disappointment.  It leads you to always seeking more.

Christ promises to satisfy you.  When you thirst for him, he quenches your soul.  When you hunger for his presence, he overflows your plate. 

What are you seeking to satisfy your hunger and thirst?  What do you desire most of all?

If you want to be happy, then don't worry, just pretend and buy the latest and greatest gadget.

If you want to be satisfied, seek Jesus Christ and his righteousness.

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