Bjcorbin's Blog

As the grandson of immigrants, I was raised with a deep reverence for the United States of America, and all the opportunities it has afforded our family.  Collectively, our patriotism has at times bordered on fanatical, with nearly unquestioned loyalty towards the high ideals we were taught.  As a young man, I served my country, just as my father did before me, knowing that it might cost me my life. It was a price I was more than willing to pay, and something that I do not regret.

For most of my life, I considered my allegiance to God and to my country as being essentially synonymous, but as I grew closer to the Lord, I found Him challenging that notion.  At first, it was in a broad sense, but in recent years it has become far more acute.  Though I remain grateful for this country, and the liberty it has provided, my perspective has been significantly altered as to the place it should hold in my heart.  I offer this essay for those who may find themselves on a similar journey.

Growing up, the words Jefferson penned in the Declaration of Independence were held in the highest esteem, “We hold these truths to be sacred & undeniable; that all men are created equal & independent, that from that equal creation they derive rights inherent & inalienable, among which are the preservation of life, & liberty, & the pursuit of happiness.”  It wasn’t until the Lord challenged me to read those words with spiritual eyes that I began to see an issue.  Much like Superman’s pledge to fight for truth, justice and the American way, I started to recognize that God is only committed to two out of the three.

Interestingly, Jefferson’s allusions toward pursuing “happiness” were derived from the writings of other founding fathers, like John Locke (e.g. “Essay Concerning Human Understanding”), and George Mason (e.g. Virginia Declaration of Rights).  Indeed, these words were far too reasonable to raise an eyebrow or an objection, and from a strictly human perspective they are completely rationale.  It is not until you look at them through the lens of scripture that you recognize there may be a problem.

In the truest sense, God has given us the unalienable right to pursue our own happiness.  By placing the forbidden tree within the garden, and not erecting an impenetrable wall around it, He made it our decision.  On the one hand we could dwell within the garden, completely dependent on Him for all things, or on the other hand, we could be “like God (Gen.3:5)”, and decide for ourselves what is good, and what is evil. It is ultimately the choice between being separated unto God (i.e. holiness), or being separated from God (i.e. sin).  One could even say that Adam and Eve’s decision was mankind’s original declaration of independence. 

John Kennedy said that, “The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie, deliberate, contrived and dishonest, but the myth, persistent, persuasive and unrealistic.”  J.I. Packer noted that a half-truth masquerading as the whole truth can often become a complete untruth. And Isa Blagden observed that, “If a lie is only printed often enough, it becomes a quasi-truth, and if such a truth is repeated often enough, it becomes an article of belief, a dogma, and men will die for it.”  I believe that all these ideas are relevant in understanding the arc of how “The Pursuit of Happiness” has largely become America’s spiritual undoing.

Another important distinctive is the difference between joy and happiness.  In my formative years, I would have considered joy to simply be the high end of the happiness scale.  Thus, if I liked something, it made me “happy”, but if it made me really, really happy, it qualified as “joyous”.  But, after coming to know the Lord in a more substantive way, I’ve come to realize that these words are actually describing two very different experiences. 

Happiness is largely just a positive feeling that one gets from external stimuli (e.g. smelling grandma’s famous pie baking, cuddling a puppy, winning the race…), and it tends to be both circumstantial and fleeting.  While the joy that God offers (i.e. “the joy of the Lord” – Nehemiah 8:10) comes from His Spirit (1Thes.1:6), and rises up from within our being.  It is both substantial and profound.  For those who have experienced the latter, there is really no comparison between the two.

I would submit that the stubborn belief that we know what will make us “happy” is a by-product of the forbidden fruit, which is ultimately rooted in the idea that we know what is “good” (i.e. good for us).  But just as Jesus told the rich young ruler (Luke 18:19), there is really only One who can define what is “good”.  Proverbs (14:12) says that there is a way that seems right to a man, but that it leads to death.  And Henry David Thoreau observed that most men “lead lives of quiet desperation,” which would seem to affirm the idea that we are not well-equipped to identify what might actually make us “happy”.

Jesus taught that those who try to gain their life will eventually lose it, and that it is only those who are willing to lay down their life (for Him) who ultimately discover it (Matt.16:25).  Scripture tells us that if we pursue Him and His purposes, He will work all things to our good (Rom.8:28) and that all we need will be added unto us (Matt.6:33).  And the Lord makes it clear that no servant can serve “two masters” (Matt.6:24).  Those who are called by His name must choose whether their pursuit will be of Him (Matt.22:37) or of their own “happiness”.

Western Christianity has largely replaced the concept of self-sacrifice (i.e. dying to self) with self-actualization (i.e. empowerment, fulfillment, blessing, calling, gifts…).  This revised version of the gospel allows one to live their best life here on earth, and then ascend to the heavenly mansion that has most certainly been set aside for them. 

But Jesus said that anyone who is not willing to take up their cross and follow Him (i.e. to lay down their lives and serve God’s purposes) is not worthy of Him (Matt.10:38).  In order to qualify as a “Follower” one must be willing to allow someone else to take the lead, and then base their responses on that leader’s cues, which precludes being guided by what has the greatest potential to lead to happiness. 

The popular rationale is that because God loves us, He surely wants us to be happy, and that happiness is just part of the blessing package Jesus died to give us.  Indeed, the scripture does speak of an inexpressible joy (1Peter 1:8), but as previously mentioned, this is a gift that comes from Him, and through His Spirit.  It is a by-product of a life surrendered to Him, and a heart that comes in concert with His.  If our pursuit is of happiness, God’s role is reduced to that of a power tool, that is simply used to get us what we really want.

Evidence of this mindset within “the church” can be found in the often discussed, and generally accepted idea of being angry with God, which at its core is a ridiculous notion.  In order to be angry with God, one must assume a position of superior knowledge, greater compassion or a more developed sense of justice than He.  But if the role we’ve assigned Him in our lives is that of a blessing dispenser, we will naturally feel cheated when He doesn’t deliver.  Like putting our quarters in the vending machine, we pound against the glass when the desired treat doesn’t fall as we anticipated.

I would submit that many “Christians” in America hold the words of documents like the Declaration of the Independence and the U.S. Constitution in similar regard to those of the scripture.  But despite their virtuous sounding language, they are not promoting the same message.  The pursuit of happiness keeps self at the center of our attention while scripture encourages us to esteem others above ourselves (Phil.2:3).  It keeps us focused on our circumstances, and how we feel about them, which is contrary to the numerous admonitions to focus on eternal things (2 Cor.4:18, Phil.4:8, Heb.12:2).   And most importantly, it replaces God as the object of our pursuit (Exod.20:3).

After years of believing that my love for God and country were wholly compatible, I can now hear the Lord declaring, “Choose this day whom you will serve!”  Shall we act upon what is seen and perishing, or shall we be moved by what is unseen and eternal (2Cor.4:18)?  Will our hearts allegiance be to our flag or to His cross?  Shall we seek His face (2 Chron.7:14) or simply look for His hand to work on our behalf?  Will our citizenship be invested in our beloved nation, or in the Kingdom of God (which is not of this world – John18:36)?  Shall we submit ourselves to the leadership that comes from above, or will we continue to clamor for an earthly king? 

Is America committed to blessing God to the same degree we are asking God to bless America?  Is our hope rooted in God’s goodness and sovereignty, or are we depending upon our “Godly heritage” and our democratic process?  Is the person of God the true object of our desire, or has He become a means to some other end (e.g. the American Dream)?

I am not advocating against loyalty and/or appreciation for our nation, or against participation within the democratic process, but we must recognize that these are temporal props within an eternal story.  They cannot compete for our allegiance to God and His sacred purposes. A house divided against itself cannot stand (Matt.12:25, Mark 3:25, Luke 11:17).

After a lifetime of assuming the inherent virtue of our way of life, I have been compelled to view my homeland through the lens of eternity.  While we like to think of ourselves as a bastion of freedom, the truth is far less flattering.  We are actually the most medicated, addicted, anxious, depressed, suicidal and incarcerated society on the planet. 

Our relative prosperity has not brought us joy, or peace, but it has resulted in a spiritual lethargy, and complacency in our relationship with God.  We, who are called by His name, are deeply divided, and distracted by all manner of disputable matters.  And despite all this, we remain convinced that God somehow wants to preserve things the way that they are.