Page 98 - Biblical Counseling II-Textbook

Let’s take a closer look at three of these emotions. First, we will read about happiness. What function
does it serve? What influences our experience of each? Then we will spend time reading about fear and
anger in a separate section.

Happiness

But may the righteous be glad
and rejoice before God;
may they be happy and joyful.

4 Sing to God, sing in praise of his name,
extol him who rides on the clouds;
rejoice before him—his name is the LORD.
5 A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,
is God in his holy dwelling.

Psalm 68:3-5

What are the causes and consequences of happiness?

“How to gain, how to keep, how to recover happiness is in fact for most men at all times the secret
motive for all they do,” observed William James. This is understandably so, for one’s state of happiness
or unhappiness colors everything. People who are happy perceive the world as safer, feel more
confident, make decisions more easily, rate job applicants more favorably, are more cooperative and
tolerant and live healthier and more energized and satisfied lives. When your mood is gloomy and your
thinking preoccupied, life as a whole seems depressing and meaningless. Let your mood brighten, and
your thinking broadens and becomes more playful and creative. Your relationships, your self-image, and
your hopes for the future also seem more promising. Positive emotions fuel upward spirals.

One of psychology’s most consistent findings is when we feel happy, we more often help others. In
research study after study, a mood-boosting experience (finding money, succeeding on a challenging
task, recalling a happy event) has made people more likely to give money, pick up someone’s dropped
papers, volunteer time, and do other good deeds. Psychologists call it the feel-good, do-good
phenomenon. Happiness doesn’t just feel good, it does good.

In their happiness research, psychologists have studied influences on both our temporary moods and
our long-term life satisfaction. When studying people’s hour-by-hour moods, it was discovered that
positive emotion rises over the early to middle part of most days. Stressful events – an argument, a sick
child, a car problem – trigger bad moods. No surprise there. But by the next day, the gloom nearly
always lifts. If anything, people tend to rebound from a bad day to a better-than-usual good mood the
following day. When in a bad mood, can you usually depend on rebounding within a day or two? Are
your times of elation similarly hard to sustain? Over the long run, our emotional ups and downs tend to
balance (Myer, 2009).”

What about “Christian happiness?” Is there such a thing? Read the following thoughts by Dr. David
Murray a pastor and professor of Old Testament theology. Pay attention to the quotes at the beginning
along with what the individuals were famous for:

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