Happiness and Hell

Psalm 16 is a perfect summary of the contrast between the nature of true happiness and unhappiness.

"Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
I say to the LORD, "You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you."
As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight. The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips.
The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.
The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
I bless the LORD who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me.
I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.
For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.
You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore." (ESV)

A few observations:
1. The Psalm begins and ends with David's delight in God. This is the essence of true happiness, knowing God. That is what we were created for.

2. He also lists other things that make him happy: other saints, the land that God gave him to live on, the security and guidance that God gives him. But all these things are secondary to his relationship with God, for without the relationship, he would not have any of these other things. As Paul says in Romans 5:11 - "we rejoice in God". This statement comes after an in depth description of what God has done for us in Christ. It all climaxes in our delight in Him, over and above the many good things that He gives us in addition to Himself.

3. "The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply" vs. 4. This becomes hugely relevant when we recognize that "another god" can be anything we put foremost in our affections. Whatever we really love the most, that is our God.

The tragic thing about sin is that most people cling to it because they think that it will make them happy, but the opposite is true. Drug and alcohol abuse are prime examples of this fact. Sure they give a temporary high, but then the high goes away and is replaced with a hangover. You have to keep on pouring more and more chemical happiness into your body, to temporarily fake yourself into thinking that you are happy. But without the drugs, there is nothing but hollowness, barrenness of soul, despair. The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply. Somehow, the devil has managed to fool the whole world into thinking that God's way is restrictive, inhibited, un-fun, and that his (the devil's) stupid way is the way to really be free and have a good time. But why, if you are really happy, must you keep on doping yourself silly? Why can't you have any peace without the drugs? It is because you are not happy at all. You are miserable and you are totally deceived by the lies of the devil. What you are actually experiencing is a little taste of hell (though the real thing will be much worse).

Why did God give us desire? What is it for? We are all driven by impulses. We are desperate to be happy and we search for happiness everywhere. Human desire, whether it be for sex, food, drink, entertainment, the approval of others, anything... it is infinite. We are never satisfied no matter how much of these things we get. We always want more and more. The reason our capacity for desire is infinite is because God is infinite and we were created with an infinite capacity to enjoy Him. But if we misplace our affections and try to satisfy ourselves with anything less than Him, we will be unsatisfied. This is hell - always wanting, but never obtaining.

There will be no sex in hell, but hell will be full of sex addicts who, through years of debaucherous living, trained themselves to love this thing above all else. They will never be satisfied.

There will be no drugs or alcohol in hell, but hell will be full of addicts in eternal withdrawal. They will never be satisfied.

There will be no food in hell, but it will be full of gluttons with empty bellies. They will never be satisfied.

The list could go on, you get the point. Only when all our desire is focused on God do we find true, infinite satisfaction. Our deepest needs are met in Him. But you see, God really gives everybody what they ask for. To those who say, "I don't want you God" He says, "Okay, you won't have me." And so they are never satisfied because they have abandoned Him, the spring of living water, and have dug for themselves broken cisterns that can hold no water, (Jer. 2:13).

"This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed." - John 3:19-20 (NASB)

Hell is separation from God. If God is not there, it can be nothing but hell, for He is the very definition of goodness and happiness and everything we really need and want.

So why did God create so many pleasurable things other than Himself? Just to trip us up? No, the good things in this world are to be enjoyed with gratitude. Gratitude orients our enjoyment properly, because it reminds us that all the good things we enjoy are from God, and are intended to give us a small taste of some aspect of His inherent goodness. A good meal, a beautiful sunset, even the passion of sex, all were given as good gifts from God, to be enjoyed in the proper way, place and time. When these things are taken out of their proper contexts, they do not satisfy like they should. Instead of increasing our understanding of God and our happiness in Him, they become stumbling blocks that we worship in God's place.

"For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served the created thing, rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever, amen." - Romans 1:25 (NASB)

All this is to say that if you want to be happy, seek God, you won't be disappointed. If you want to be miserable forever, reject Him. Or as John Piper would say, "God is most glorified in us, when we are most satisfied in Him."

"You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore!"