The Prized Treasures

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  “Will the prized treasures of today always be the cheap trifles of the day before? Will rows of our willow-pattern dinner-plates be ranged above the chimneypieces of the great in the years 2000 and odd? Will the white cups with the gold rim and the beautiful gold flower inside (species unknown), that our Sarah Janes now break in sheer light-heartedness of spirit, be carefully mended, and stood upon a bracket, and dusted only by the lady of the house? . . . .   The “sampler” that the eldest daughter did at school will be spoken of as “tapestry of the Victorian era,” and be almost priceless. The blue-and-white mugs of the present-day roadside inn will be hunted up, all cracked and chipped, and sold for their weight in gold, and rich people will use them for claret cups; and travellers from Japan will buy up all the “Presents from Ramsgate,” and “Souvenirs of Margate,” that may have escaped destruction, and take them back to Jedo as ancient English curios.” Jerome K. Jerome, “T...

"Happiness comes from God. Can the devil give happiness?"

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With all due respect to the Kenyan student who asked the question, the answer is found in the preceding statement: "happiness comes from God;" in other words, "the devil cannot give happiness."

Let us first consider who the devil is, and what he brings to the table. Jesus describes Satan as "a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies." (John 8:44) Satan, the murderer brings truthlessness. So if Satan comes along and says, "this will make you happy," can he be speaking the truth?

Notice Satan is also called the devouring enemy. "Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." (1 Peter 5:8) If Satan comes around offering happiness, remember that he is not coming as my friend, with any best interest in mind. "Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light." (2 Corinthians 11:14).

The question also helps us examine the distinction between the pleasures of sin, and happiness. The devil would like us to think we are made happy, but as great Christian writers of the past have often pointed out, we are too easily satisfied. This is the place of deception.

Happiness is from God. "To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind." (Ecclesiastes 2:26) Reject God, and one finds no happiness (and no wisdom or knowledge for that matter).

"I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength." (Philippians 4:11-13)

Here is a great blog on "Jesus and Buddha on Happiness."

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