THE
PROBLEM OF HAPPINESS

Topics: Anger; Complaining; Happiness; Joy; Piety; Witnessing

References: Nehemiah 8:10; Psalm 9:1–2; Proverbs 4:23; Matthew 5:13–16; John 10:10

I once asked a deeply religious man if he considered himself a truly pious person. He responded that while he aspired to be one, he felt that he fell short in two areas. One was his not being happy enough.

He said unhappy Christians reflect poorly on their religion and on their Creator. He was right—unhappy religious people do pose a real challenge to faith. If their faith is so impressive, why aren’t they happy?

There are only two possible reasons: either they are not practicing their faith correctly, or they are practicing their faith correctly and the religion itself is not conducive to happiness. Most outsiders assume the latter reason.

Unhappy religious people should therefore think about how important being happy is—if not for themselves, then for the sake of their religion. Unhappy religious people provide more persuasive arguments for atheism and secularism than do all the arguments of atheists.

—Dennis Prager, Happiness Is a Serious Problem (HarperCollins, 1998)