The Table Video
Why Don't Christians Like 'Happiness' ? [From the Table #4]
Which is more important? Being good, or being happy?
In this episode of From the Table on #happiness, theologian Ellen Charry (author of God & the Art of Happiness) diagnoses the Christian aversion to “happiness” and clarifies the ways that GIVING (being good) and GAINING (being happy) can work together. Music: “Milk & Honey” by Brian Lee & His Orchestra (brianleehisorchestra.bandcamp.com)
Transcript:
Christians have been taught that happiness and goodness are polar opposites and that we Christians are supposed to be good and not happy, and that being good implies that you’re going to be unhappy, because being good means self-sacrifice and self-denial and self-abnegation, that you withhold trying to get what you want, because it will be sinful.
Not only the things that you want will be sinful, but even wanting things is itself sinful, because you should just be emptying yourself, giving over your whole self to the other. I think the Christian neuralgia around happiness is partly about the way the word has been used by marketplace America.
And that is it has been shallowed out and hollowed out into things like Godiva chocolates will make you happy or a good meal or fairly superficial and transient things. I think this comes from, as I say, partly a faulty understanding of happiness that reigns in terms of just buying power, but partly in the idea that Christians should really not want to flourish in this life, because God demands our all. You’re supposed to give and give and give, and when you have nothing else to give, what do you do, you give some more.
You’re never permitted to stop giving, no matter how much it hurts. When we give, we gain from giving. That is, when we care for others well, let’s say our children, when we care for them well, we get great joy from this and we see them going in the way that they should go, and this is pleasurable and it enables us to do that carefully and adroitly, because we are benefiting from our children benefiting.
If we take care of the earth, we benefit from that, because we know that we are enabling the earth to flourish and there’s deep pleasure in that. And that goes for any art form that we may pursue, if you do quilting or you do auto mechanics, I do think we need certain modicum, foundation of health and physical well-being, safety. All of these things of the very simplest parts of life, I think when we see them in the context of the contribution that we’re making enable us to feel strong and good about ourselves and our contribution to the culture that is exactly what God [chuckles] wants from us.
And so, I don’t see why Christianity should be afraid of happiness if it is understood in a proper context and even being proud of yourself and being confident in living the good life, because all the things that I’ve mentioned are all ways that we are contributing to the society and make us happy in living well, in living what I would call the good life. The mutual exchange between what I am able to give and the benefits that affords me. I hope that helps a little bit.
Transcript
[dramatic orchestral music]
Christians have been taught that happiness and goodness are polar opposites and that we Christians are supposed to be good and not happy, and that being good implies that you’re going to be unhappy, because being good means self-sacrifice and self-denial and self-abnegation, that you withhold trying to get what you want, because it will be sinful. Not only the things that you want will be sinful, but even wanting things is itself sinful, because you should just be emptying yourself, giving over your whole self to the other. I think the Christian neuralgia around happiness is partly about the way the word has been used by marketplace America. And that is it has been shallowed out and hollowed out into things like Godiva chocolates will make you happy or a good meal or fairly superficial and transient things. I think this comes from, as I say, partly a faulty understanding of happiness that reigns in terms of just buying power, but partly in the idea that Christians should really not want to flourish in this life, because God demands our all. You’re supposed to give and give and give, and when you have nothing else to give, what do you do, you give some more. You’re never permitted to stop giving, no matter how much it hurts. When we give, we gain from giving. That is, when we care for others well, let’s say our children, when we care for them well, we get great joy from this and we see them going in the way that they should go, and this is pleasurable and it enables us to do that carefully and adroitly, because we are benefiting from our children benefiting. If we take care of the earth, we benefit from that, because we know that we are enabling the earth to flourish and there’s deep pleasure in that. And that goes for any art form that we may pursue, if you do quilting or you do auto mechanics, I do think we need certain modicum, foundation of health and physical well-being, safety.
All of these things of the very simplest parts of life, I think when we see them in the context of the contribution that we’re making enable us to feel strong and good about ourselves and our contribution to the culture that is exactly what God [chuckles] wants from us. And so, I don’t see why Christianity should be afraid of happiness if it is understood in a proper context and even being proud of yourself and being confident in living the good life, because all the things that I’ve mentioned are all ways that we are contributing to the society and make us happy in living well, in living what I would call the good life. The mutual exchange between what I am able to give and the benefits that affords me. I hope that helps a little bit.
