Religion and Happiness.
By W.
"FOR a person to live and die happy, he must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ." These words we lately saw in a religious journal, and have very often heard similar expressions. The utterance of such a sentiment gives evidence of a very crude idea of religion and its object. We think that such a view of religion is injurious, for the following reasons:— 1. It fosters selfishness, which is directly opposed to true religion. To make happiness the sole or the principal incentive for gaining religion, is to direct the attention of the individual to himself rather than to God. Love should be the mainspring of every act of the Christian. The reward of the righteous, and the punishment of the ungodly are both set before us, to stimulate us both by hope and by fear; yet these are not the main incentives. "Perfect love casteth out fear." It is certain that when one is imbued with the Spirit of Christ, who said, "My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me, and to finish His work," he will not do his work through fear of the consequences if he should neglect it. At the birth of Christ the angels sang, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." Luke 2:14. And the first commandment is, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind," while the second is, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." In true religion there is no place for thoughts of self; the glory of God, and the welfare of our fellow-men comprise our whole duty. All the thought the Christian has to take of self is to keep himself unspotted from the world. 2. The idea is injurious because it tends to the discouragement of those who hold it. If a man thinks that happiness is the sure and invariable result of belief in Christ, he will surely be discouraged when trouble comes, as it certainly will. When the Thessalonians were in distress, Paul wrote to them "that no man should be moved by these afflictions; for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto." 1 Thess. 3:3. It is enough for the disciple if he be as his Lord, and he was "a man of sorrow, and acquainted with grief." So he says to359his followers: "If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you." "Yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service." "In the world ye shall have tribulation." True, the Christian will be "joyful in tribulation," yet it will be tribulation still. 3. The idea that happiness is a constant accompaniment of belief in Christ, is injurious, because it tends to produce false hopes. The careless sinner and the professor who is "at ease in Zion," having this idea, may fancy that they are in good case. They have no trouble, therefore they think the Lord must be pleased with them. They forget that "whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth." Pious Job was afflicted almost beyond conception, while the wicked whom David saw were not in trouble as other men, neither were they plagued like other men. They were in prosperity, and had more than heart could wish. And this was just because they were wicked. The devil can well afford to let his servants dwell in peace, but "all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." A happy death is not in itself any evidence of a person's piety, nor an assurance that he is sure of final happiness. The psalmist says of the wicked, "There are no bands in their death; but their strength is firm." Ps. 73:4. On the other hand, a good man may, like Hezekiah, be in sore distress at the thought that he is near death. In a word, the honor and glory of God should be placed before our own happiness. Indeed, happiness should never be sought. If we seek for happiness, it will be sure to escape us, although we may be satisfied with a spurious article. If we glorify God, that is of itself true happiness or blessedness, for Christ declares that they that mourn are happy. And this should show the folly of trusting to feeling in any case. The basis of the Christian's hope and trust is not feeling, but knowledge. In the midst of terrible trial he can say, "I know that my Redeemer liveth;" and although he may feel that because of poverty and low station, he is despised by men, if he keeps "the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus," he may have, not the feeling, but the assurance that he pleases God. W.