Jeff Carter
Last month we started to explore what Joy looks like in scripture. We contrasted the ideas of joy and happiness and how joy is intimately tied to our Christian walk. We ended by noting that an idea has crept into the Christian culture which suggests that somehow seeking joy, benefit or reward from even serving God somehow runs counter to the self-denial and ascetic kind of life we have been taught that we’re called to. Let’s continue our exploration of joy by looking at a couple of erroneous teachings that highlight this idea.
Immanuel Kant, the German philosopher form the 18th century taught the notion that the moral value of an act decreases as we aim to derive any benefit from it. Acts are good if the doer is “disinterested.” We should do the good because it is good. Any motivation to seek joy or reward corrupts the act.
Atheistic philosopher Ayn Rand pointed back to Kant when she noted, “An action is moral … only if one has no desire to perform it, but performs it out of a sense of duty and derives no benefit from it of any sort, neither material nor spiritual. A benefit destroys the moral value of an action” (For the Intellectual, New York: Signet, 1961, p.32).
This wrongheaded idea has wound its way into much of what we Christians hear taught regarding the motivation we ought to have when doing good or seeking rewards. Yes, self-denial is taught in scripture but it is for the sake of finding our ultimate satisfaction and joy in God. We must not give in to the notion that it is somehow selfish to seek for joy in our lives. Joy is commanded by God. Joy is a good gift from a good God who wants good things for us. Since joy is, in essence, a byproduct of relationship with God, then to deny us the benefits of that relationship in any respect is an assault upon our reason for being—namely glorifying God and enjoying Him forever.
There is a famous quote from C.S. Lewis that is often cited that illustrates this idea: “We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.” The idea is that the puny little thrills we so often seek pale in comparison to what God has in mind for us.
We have heard this quote many times, but the context in which Lewis made this statement is absolutely crucial to look at:
“The New Testament has lots to say about self-denial, but not about self-denial as an end in itself. We are told to deny ourselves and to take up our crosses in order that we may follow Christ; and nearly every description of what we shall ultimately find if we do so contains an appeal to desire.
If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly to hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I submit that this notion has crept in from Kant and the Stoics and is no part of the Christian faith. Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” (C. S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,1965, pp. 1-2.)
God promises us rewards as benefits of being His children. One of these rewards is joy. To ignore this reality is myopic and unbiblical. To deny us the enjoyment of these rewards is to undermine the purpose for giving them in the first place. There is nothing wrong with seeking the joy that comes in being in relationship with God. In fact, there is everything right with it. God is a God of joy. He created us to revel in that joy. Heaven is all about the full and unhindered celebration of God—a celebration that is nothing if not completely full of joy.
The world renowned evangelist and founder of orphanages George Muller also saw this was true. He said:
“The point is this: I saw more clearly than ever, that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was, to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about was not, how much I might serve the Lord, how I might glorify the Lord; but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man might be nourished. For I might seek to set the truth before the unconverted, I might seek to benefit believers, I might seek to relieve the distressed, I might in other ways seek to behave myself as it becomes a child of God in this world; and yet, not being happy in the Lord, and not being nourished and strengthened in my inner man day by day, all this might not be attended to in a right spirit” (Autobiography of George Mueller, compiled by Fred Bergen, London: J. Nisbet Co., 1906, pp. 152-154).
Modern believers have inherited a false idea of what holiness really looks like. Perhaps this is a vestige of monasticism and the weeping and wailing that asceticism taught. But we have created a false dichotomy that does not appear in scripture. Happiness and holiness are not pitted against each other. In fact, joy is so much more than just a wonderful promise for those who decide to take advantage of it. Seeking joy as a gift from God, and seeking it as a benefit of being in relationship with Him is actually commanded of us by God.
Several times in the book of Philippians, Paul goes beyond just encouraging the choice of joy, and actually commands it—using the imperative mood. In Phil 4:4 he says, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” This is not a suggestion. It is a command. Again, this reminds us that we can choose joy. If it is commanded of us, then it cannot simply be a result of feelings related to circumstances. And this joy is not some sort of fake smile we paste on our face. It is an inner conviction; a rested assurance; a confident trust in the One from whom joy flows.
So, in addition to being a gift from God; a fruit of walking in the Spirit; a state that is independent of circumstances; and is a result of thankfulness; joy is a choice we can make—and are actually commanded to make. As reflections of the character of God, our lives ought to accurately reflect God’s joyful heart. We have a calling, and even a duty to be faithful representatives of who God truly is to the world.
Even trials and suffering cannot touch that rested assurance deep within our souls. Paul says that our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. Our joy now, even in the midst of suffering, anticipates the complete satisfaction and pleasure of that day, when there will be no more tears, forever.
The reward for following Jesus is Jesus. Jesus really is the definition of Joy. Our connection to Him; our relationship with Him grounds us in the source, and fount, and basis for joy.
-Jeff
New Class
Please join us as Chris Sandoval leads us in an exploration of the apologetics of the Resurrection in a 3-week class, “Defending the Faith: Evidence for the Resurrection.” The class will begin on Mar 10th and will be held on campus at Irvine Community Church from 7:00-8:30 p.m. Please see the class description page online for more information.