If It Makes You Happy

Epiphany Greetings!

Sheryl Crow sang a song with the chorus:

“If it makes you happy
then it can’t be that bad.
If it makes you happy
Then why are you so sad?”

The tempo and music always attracted my attention, and I’d sing along in my car.  I never felt comfortable with the words though.  Some of them I just don’t get, but this chorus was catchy enough to belt out while driving down the road.  Yet, every time I would sing it, I would feel a pinch from my conscious.  I knew that just because something makes me happy for the moment, that didn’t make it right or a good thing to do hence the sadness that comes on after. 

This week’s Gospel lesson from Matthew 5: 21 - 37  really hits home with this.  Sometime it makes us happy to look at men or women and say how “hot” they are (A.K.A. adultery).  Sometime it makes us happy to talk or gossip about someone or insult  or get angry with them (a.k.a murder).  Sometime it makes us happy to say something we don’t mean like saying we will pray for someone because it is nice to say when we know we very well won’t (a.k.a.lying/false oaths).

So where is the hope in all of this for us?  It comes in the preceding verses especially  verse 19 that says:  “Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven."   

It sounds stiff like we have to obey these laws to the "T”.  (Where did that expression come from?)  However, if we look more closely it says we need to practice and teach these commands.  Not keep them perfectly but work at it.  We cannot 100% of the time obey all the laws.  That is why Christ came to give us forgiveness of all our sins on the cross and through his resurrection. 

Yet, we try, and we teach others to not go along with the chorus to Sheryl Crow’s song: 

“If it makes you happy
Then it can’t be that bad.”

We let them know that the last two lines are definitely true:

“If it makes you happy
Then why are you so sad?”

And we tell them that it makes them so sad because we have done something wrong and not followed God’s plan for our lives.  Then we need to be sure we tell them that we need to search after eternal happiness by loving people, even those who are hardest for us to love, just as Jesus did.  Only then will we find real happiness and even better, a deep joy and peace only God can give.

God is with you as you work toward that joy!

Hope