The Second Greatest Lie

I'm tired of hearing people give other people the advice to "just do what makes you happy." Other variations of this are "You need a little bit of 'you' time" or "Do what you want. You deserve it!" I hear it all the time - on TV shows, in conversation, in movies. It's even written into our Declaration of Independence. It has become the staple of American philosophy.

When did self-gratification become a praiseworthy course of action? When people rattle off praiseworthy traits, they'll often list things like love, humility, self-sacrifice, honor, integrity. People don't usually toss in "selfishness" or "hedonism." So why do they offer this advice to others as wisdom or as a way to solve their problems?

Come to think of it, has acting solely in one's own self-interest EVER worked in solving one's problems? I know when things are worst in my own life, it's almost always because I've been seeking to please myself TOO MUCH and have too often sought my own happiness. Ironically, it is when I seek to serve and please God and others first that I am at my happiest. It's not as if this is some kind of revelation, though. The Bible states this very thing over and over. Gandhi, Voltaire and Martin Luther King Jr. all realized this to be true. Where did we go wrong? Why do we continue to lie to ourselves?

Perhaps I'm being too harsh on us. After all, hedonism has always existed. And yet, I still get the feeling that never before has it been so accepted as wisdom. It's the great American lie: happiness is what is worth your pursuit - not the heart of God. Satan's greatest lie, it is often said, is convincing the world that he doesn't exist; but right behind it, I think, is the lie that pleasing ourselves is the pinnacle of one's life pursuit.

I wish I could convince people by just showing them a chart demonstrating the negative correlation between pursuing one's happiness and actually attaining happiness. Ultimately, though, this task falls on us as believers to reveal this truth through our pursuit of Christ, our lives of service and our attitudes of joy. Until we succeed in making this a staple of who we are, the world will continue to pat itself on the back as it continues on its fruitless pursuit of the unattainable.