HAPPINESS - Science and Mathematics

Today we began our series on HAPPINESS by looking at the Science of Happiness and the Mathematics of Happiness. I also introduced a new in-class polling system that we will be using to gauge the class on certain lesson-related concepts. If you want to participate in upcoming polls (which I hope you will) be sure to bring your cell phone to class. The polls are free and anonymous. Here are the results of the questions I asked today:

What is your interest in this new series on "HAPPINESS"?
A. Extremely excited - 48%
B. Very interested - 36%
C. Somewhat interested, but not yet "over the moon" about it - 16%

Are you basically a happier person now than you were one year ago?
A. Yes - 84%
B. No - 12%
C. Depends - 4%

Being honest (no one will know): At this present time in your life, what makes you feel the happiest?
A. When I do something that I enjoy doing or look forward to doing? - 64%
B. When I see that something I have done has made a positive difference in someone's life - 36%

Since my wedding day, I am (which is most correct):
A. Considerably happier married than I was single - 95%
B. No happier now than I was before I married - 5%
C. Less happy now than I was when I was single - 0%

The Science of Happiness tells us that happy people have higher levels of intelligence, creativity, and an increased ability to solve problems. When we get happier our bodies get healthier, our relationships improve, our marriages become more fulfilling, we make more money, we live longer, and our overall sense of well-being improves.

The Mathematics of Happiness tells us that our external (uncontrollable) circumstances determine 10% of our happiness, 50% of our happiness is determined by our genetic makeup, and the remaining 40% of our happiness is determined by our actions and thoughts. Sadly, most humans focus most of their energy on trying to control the 10% - the uncontrollable instead of the 40% they can control. Also, studies have proven that there are simple things you can do to rewire your brain and change negative genetics. We will talk more about that next week when we look at the Habits of Happiness.

God is happy. He has created, wired, and designed us to be happy. And He has given us the guidelines, principles, truths, and the instructions to attain satisfying happiness. Matter-of-fact, He wants us to seek to intensify our longing for happiness and nourish it with whatever will provide the deepest and most enduring satisfaction possible. And wouldn't you know it; that deep, enduring happiness is found only in Him.

As David wrote in Psalm 16:11: "In your presence there is fullness of joy (happiness); at your right hand are pleasures forevermore." In Psalm 37:4 he wrote, "Delight (make happy) yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart." God is glorified by our joy (happiness) in Him.

Next week we will be looking at the Habits of Happiness.

BIBLE STUDY METHODS - Ephesians 6:18-24 (Part 2)

In Sunday's lesson we completed the Book of Ephesians and introduced our new series - HAPPINESS.

The war we fight is not of this world. It is a war against the "principalities, ...powers, ...rulers of the darkness of this world, ...spiritual wickedness in the heavenly places." (v. 12)

As the angel Gabriel told Daniel, "God has heard your prayers... I have come in answer to your prayers. The [evil] angel prince of the kingdom of Persia opposed me for twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief angels, came to help me..." (Daniel 10:12-13)

As Daniel fasted and prayed for forgiveness for himself and Israel, Gabriel was at war with, what was most likely, an evil spiritual entity that wielded authority over the ancient kingdom of Persia. The resistance was so great that Gabriel had to call on the powerful archangel Michael for help. This is the same archangel Michael that, in the New Testament, leads God's armies against Satan's forces in the Book of Revelation, where during the war in heaven he defeats Satan.

There is an invisible, on-going war between good and evil. Countless numbers of angels fight for God's honor and glory. When we petition God with our prayers, He orders His angels into battle, just as we read in the Book of Daniel, Gabriel said: "God has heard your prayers... I [Gabriel] have come in answer to your prayers." The fight is "not against flesh and blood [but] against wickedness in high places." 

To be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil, we must "Put on..." and "take up... the whole armor of God." (v. 11, 13). We must put on truth [knowing the content of God's truth], righteousness [take sin seriously], and peace [be at peace with God and confident of His love for us] and take up faith [faith in God as One who never fails us], salvation [in the coming glorification], and the Holy Spirit (Word of God) [the rhema - uttered, spoken, and used Word of God].

During His three temptations in the desert, Jesus resisted Satan with the rhema--spoken Word of God. Three times He rebuked Satan by saying, "It is written..." We must do the same when temptation comes.

"All men naturally hunger and thirst after happiness." (J.C. Ryle)

During this series, we will explore many practical and Biblical applications that will pull back the curtain on happiness. It is a hot topic that has been aggressively researched and written about during the last 10 years. Interestingly, the science of happiness was well documented in the Bible long before secular psychologists began to "discover" the wonderful results of positive psychology.

In our introduction to Happiness, we looked at the 5 Laws of Happiness and the 4 Relational Habits of Happiness. I pointed out that happiness is found by being, not by doing, and happiness starts with relationships.

This series promises to be very satisfying and encouraging! Next week I will show you how, in only 2 minutes per day for 21 days, you can "rewire" your brain (and your children) for happiness.

BIBLE STUDY METHODS - Ephesians 6:10-20 (Part I)

There are lines all around us. In sporting events lines are there to keep the game in play (side lines and scrimmage lines in football; court boundary lines, half court line, and foul line in basketball; lane lines in swimming; baselines and batters box lines in softball and baseball). Although some lines we want to cross (goal line, finish line, outfield fence line, etc.), most are there to keep us safe (edge lines and center lines on a street, double yellow or solid lines on a highway; pedestrian crosswalk lines, etc.).

In the aviation world, pilots hold the highest respect for the many lines separating taxiways from runways. At a busy airport such as Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD), dozens, if not hundreds, of airplanes might be taxiing for takeoff at one of the airport's seven runways, while at the same time, airplanes are landing on multiple runways every minute. Crossing the wrong line at the wrong time could be disastrous.

ORD Airport Diagram

For the Christian, God has put in place spiritual lines designed to keep us safe from emotional, mental, and physical attacks from the enemy (Satan). When we cross the lines that lead us into the wilderness of sin, we become separated from God's purpose for our lives; we lose our way; we damage our soul; our spirit grows cold toward spiritual things. If we remain on the wrong side of God's protective line, we risk the chance of being swept away into regret so deeply that we might never find our way back. Although God is always ready to lead us back into His purpose, prolonged time spent on the wrong side of God's line becomes Satan's greatest opportunity to inflict his greatest blows: discouragement and doubt.

In today's lesson we looked at the six pieces of spiritual armor (Ephesians 6:14-17) that will keep us safe when we nudge up against God's lines of protection. I also gave you some practical applications of how God's powerful pieces of armament are used in our lives to avoid Satan's flaming arrows of immorality, idolatry, hatred, anger, covetousness, pride, doubt, fear, despair, distrust, and other temptations.

Paul reminded his readers that the Christian's struggle is against not only Satan himself, but also the host of his demon subordinates--a vast army of adversaries, who, like the devil, are not made of flesh and blood. Our greatest enemy is not the world we see, corrupt and wicked as it is, but the world we cannot see.

"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 6:12)

One of Satan's most effective strategies--and one of a believer's greatest dangers--is the delusion that there is no seriously threatening conflict raging between good and evil in the invisible and supernatural realm. This thinking is not only naive but will lead the Christian to lethargy, indifference, and spiritual stagnation.

The battle we fight is one that only God can win, and victory is ours when we "take up" and "put on" the full armor of God. However, His strength is appropriated only through obedience.

In the great spiritual warfare in which we do battle, we are called only to resist and stand firm. James said, "Resit the devil and he will flee from you" (James 4:7). Peter counseled us to "be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith" (1 Peter 5:8-9).

Take seriously God's spiritual lines of protection just as you would the double yellow line on the highway approaching a curve or hill. The consequences of being on the wrong side of the line should provide you all the motivation you need.

BIBLE STUDY METHODS - Ephesians 6:5-9

GOD'S PERSPECTIVE ON WORK & SPIRIT-FILLED LABOR RELATIONS

(Ephesians 6:5-9)

Our culture is having a difficult time with work. Matter-of-fact, most employees surveyed state that they are not happy at work; many even hate their work. Like a cancer, this apathy, bitterness, and negativity towards work is killing any chance that the next generation will view work any differently than their parents.

Think about it. We are raising a generation of young people who never actually see their parents at work. Although the children might have two working parents, their work is done outside of the home. All the child sees is the parents leave in the morning and coming back at night irritable and stressed. Once back in the nest, these two irritable and stressed parents can do little more than care for their own selfish needs before rising early the next day to return to the battlefield.

While the parents are busy working, the young people are being raised by a generation telling them that the most important thing to occupy their time with is leisure and entertainment. The results are a lazy culture where drugs, alcohol, sex, and homosexuality run rampant. We can only wonder how the next generation is going to perceive the value of work.

In today's lesson we looked at five of the most powerful verses in the Bible dealing with work. In five short verses (Ephesians 6:5-9), Paul gives us the antidote for the cancer that is eating away at our deep-seated infection about work. However, you must know that Paul is dealing with the practical effect of living a Spirit-filled life. Apart from you being in Christ, the antidote is short-lived, at best.

A brief summary of our lesson focuses on the six spiritual "antidotes" that Paul instructs us to follow. As an employee, if all six are followed as prescribed, you will be fully inoculated. As an employer, if all six are followed as prescribed, you will also be fully inoculated.

The employee (and the employer as seen in verse 9) must have the:

1. Right BEHAVIOR: "Servants be obedient to them that are your masters" (5)

2. Right PERSPECTIVE: "according to the flesh" (5)

3. Right ATTITUDE: "with fear and trembling" (5)

4. Right COMMITMENT: "in singleness of your heart" (5)

5. Right MOTIVE: "as unto Christ" (5)
6. Right DILIGENCE: "Not with eye service as men pleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;" (6)

If the Christian employee will inoculate his/her thinking with these six antidotes, they will have a happier, more peaceful, productive, and rewarding work life--rewarded by God. More importantly, your testimony for Christ will be a bright light at work where God's glory can shine. Remember, your work is not simply some secular activity you do to earn money. Your work is an offering given to Christ.

Below are a copy of my notes from today's lesson:

Below are the slides from today's lesson:

BIBLE STUDY METHODS - Ephesians 6:1-4 (Part II)

Clearly the family is the critical center of social force. When the family falters, life falls apart. One unforgettable law has been learned through all the disasters and injustices of the last thousand years; if things go well with the family, life is worth living. Even when poverty and disorientation strike, it is family strength that most defends individuals against alienation, lassitude or despair. (Dr. Michael Novak, Harper's Magazine)

The family is the first and most important classroom and training ground for society. The family provides the security, the heritage, the perpetuation of morality, without which no society can survive. The family is one of the divine institutions (practices or customs) established by God to protect, preserve, and allow the human race to enjoy blessings on earth (Genesis 4:1-2; Ephesians 6:1-4). 

Our next generation will determine the strength of the family and society. This enormous responsibility rest on the shoulders of present-day parent(s). Thankfully, God has given parents implicit instructions how to train the children of our next generation.

Today's lesson was centered on the topic of discipline (rewards and punishments). When the practice of discipline follows God's design, the family is strengthened. When parents "opt out" and choose not to follow God's design, calamities, conundrums, and catastrophes will eat through the fabric of the family and society.

In Proverbs 30:11-17 we read what happens when a child does not respond, does not obey, and is not properly disciplined. Proverbs 29:15, states: "...a child left to himself brings shame to his mother." 

Training children should be done by example (Proverbs 20:7; Deuteronomy 6:5-7); in love (Ephesians 6:4); and with hope (Proverbs 19:18). Just as God disciplines us (for enlargement and/or correction), we are to follow His design as we implement discipline with our children.

Parents have a great responsibility, but they also have a perfect Teacher. We MUST take the time to do it right. If you do, your child will "...give you comfort, he'll delight your soul." (Proverbs 29:15)

It's worth it! "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in truth." (3 John 4)

BIBLE STUDY METHODS - Ephesians 6:1-4 (Part I)

I affirm, as a father of two grown children, the absolute truth of 3 John 4: "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in truth." Trust me, there is NO greater joy for a parent than this. That being said, I can not overemphasize the urgency for Christian parents to place the highest priority to "train up" your children in Truth, by living your life as their example of such Truth. It only seems logical that if something that is offered to you promises to bring you the greatest joy in your life you would assign your highest priority to obtain it.

Children are maturing faster today than ever before. Puberty in the 1600s was not reached until after 17 years of age. Today, the average child reaches puberty at age 12, and that number is dropping 4 months each decade. The time we have to train our children is short, and getting shorter. Children are growing up faster and faster and being exposed to more sin today in one month than their grandparents or their great-grandparents probably saw in their entire life.

The prevalent culture of the world today is an incubator pumping out generations with anti-God life styles. The Godless media machines (TV, movies, music, etc.) are constantly programming the consciences (inner sense of what is right or wrong) of our children. By the time a child reaches his/her teens, it is not uncommon that practically all hope and security has been stripped away, as seen with the letter written by the young teenager in U.S. News and World Report (slide #8).

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) proclaimed 1979 as the International Year of the Child. The proclamation, signed by United Nations Secretary General, Kurt  Waldheim, called for children to be freed from four things:

1. Freed from traditional morals and values.

2. Freed from parental authority, including any punishment.

3. Freed from religious discrimination.

4. Freed from nationalism or patriotism.

Social engineers practice a discipline in social science that refers to efforts to influence particular attitudes and social behaviors on a large scale. They might view themselves as "guardians" of sorts whose aim is the management of society with the end goal of achieving the highest levels of freedom, prosperity, and happiness within a population. Needless to say, we can safely assume that God is not a part of the equation. Dr. R.D. Ingthorsson states that a human being is a biological creature from birth but is from then on shaped as a person through social influences and is in that sense a social construction, a product of society. A social "construct"? Sounds like something from the Matrix.

Bottom line: The odds are against the Christian parent raising children to one day say their children "are walking in truth." However, the key variable to putting the odds in your favor is your total, uncompromising surrender to obey God's Word and walk in His truth. This is the first step to ensure your children have hope and security. Peace and purpose. God's wisdom is like gold... no, better than gold (Proverbs 8:11). Christian parents need all the wisdom they can get, and they need it FAST!

You, as the Christian parent, play a major roll in raising children who will walk in Truth, have a sense of security, find hope, happiness, and purpose in their lives. Is it guaranteed? No. But without your life being an example of God's design everyday, your children will most likely be consumed by the culture. Ultimately, you will suffer greatly.

Next week I will complete this lesson. We will look at discipline and more practical issues surrounding the greatest challenge you will ever endeavor--parenting.

BIBLE STUDY METHODS - Ephesians 5:22-33 (Part II)

Today we looked at one of the most explicit passages of Scripture that outlines God's standard for marriage: Ephesians 5:22-33. Wives often bear the brunt of that section, but the majority of the passage deals with the husband's attitude toward and responsibilities for his wife.

As I pointed out in class, marriage comes in one of three flavors: Yummy, Yucky, or Not So... (hot, good, wonderful, exciting, much like I thought it would be, etc.) Marriage can be the most amazing, wonderful, blessing on Earth, or it can seem like a hellacious prison sentence that relentlessly tears at your emotions.

In Ephesians 5:22-33, Paul outlines, for all those who are "in Christ", God's design for a successful marriage. It's a formula that, when mixed properly, results in the "yummiest" marriage possible. Is is a marriage filled with sustained happiness, love, peace, and purpose. Paul's formula is time-tested and comes with a guarantee from God Himself.

So "burn your boats" of spiritual apathy, neglect, selfishness, abandonment, and resentment. Make an unconditional surrender of all your life to God's loving care and control. Let His strength, wisdom, peace and purpose rule in your life. That is the first step to a "yummy" marriage.

Secondly, be the submissive, supportive, respectful, forgiving wife that God has asked you to be. Be the loving, caring, protective husband who accepts his God-given leadership role as your #1 priority. Pray together and pray for each other--a lot. Do these things so you can enjoy God's design for a blessed marriage. It's what He wants for you.

If you are not yet married, accept that God is sovereign and has a plan for your life. Focus on getting to know Him better and trusting His plan. Use your singleness to glorify Him in all you do. Don't compromise your morals or your faith. A marriage that is not ordained by God is a curse.