Happy

What do we actually mean when we say „Happy New Year?“ I heard in a podcast that most people in our society say „The meaning of life is to attain happiness.“ And by happiness they understand a feeling. The problem with that is that feelings come and go. So when they don’t feel happy, they feel they are failing, and this makes them even more unhappy and puts them under pressure to correct this and to strive to achieve happiness.

I observe that in our society there is too much emphasis on feelings. Job adverts, car adverts, travel adverts etc all talk of passion, great emotions, awesome experiences. In this society debates are won by emotions, not reason. We are even told that our identity is what you feel, not what biology and history say.

„Happy new year“ according to God, is „love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control“ (Galatians 5,22). These are not feelings, but they produce feelings. Feelings are fickle and therefore secondary. But the fruit of the Spirit are attitudes based on faith.

May God grow our faith! I wish you a „Faith-full New Year“!