Better Than Happy
When I was a teenager, I evaluated how my friends' parents were doing. I grew up in Buckhead, so many of them had everything: large houses, vacation homes, new cars, international vacations, and more. But even though they had all the ingredients for happiness, the ones who actually seemed to be doing well were focused on something bigger than happiness. One couple I got to know lived in a smaller home, drove older cars, and had more health problems. But their lives were characterized by a closeness to God and service to others. They were open about being sad or even depressed, but they still seemed whole. Joyful. Fulfilled. Psalm 1 tells us about their way of life.
What word would you pick to open the Psalms? Maybe "God," "Praise," "Obey," "Worship,",or "Pray"? Those are good choices, but the Psalter opens with a different word: ʾašrê. It's usually translated into English as "blessed" or "happy." Jonathan Pennington argues that this word is about "flourishing," or, as I like to say, "thriving." It's the same concept that Jesus uses in the Beatitudes ("Blessed are..."). The Psalms and the Sermon on the Mount start by telling us what the good life looks like. Psalm 1 isn't about having good vibes or feeling good, but about living life well. The tension starts immediately. Those who thrive are defined by not living like the wicked, sinners, or mockers. As an American, I think success depends on believing the right things and making the right choices. But Psalm 1 asks us to identify where we belong. The pathway to thriving is narrow: it's one person against three groups. Those who thrive must avoid the wicked, the sinners, and the mockers. Who would voluntarily join the wicked? They don't present themselves that way. Instead, they look wise. They give advice. "Here's how to live well. Try it out. It's working for us." The sinners are going somewhere. If you stand next to them, you'll end up walking down the path with them. Mocking is the self-protective response of someone who isn't doing well and refuses to get better. It reinforces our unwillingness to try something better. We've already made fun of any alternatives. The verbs escalate. Walking with the wicked might lead to standing with sinners and eventually sitting with the mockers. We can slowly tiptoe into a community that's living poorly. Then, the natural momentum of fitting in takes us much farther than we ever expected to go. I don't know anyone who intentionally chooses to get advice from the most popular social media channels. But we keep opening the apps and paying attention to what the algorithms know will hook us. Before the Psalm mentions God, it prompts a question: Who do we want to be like?
If you could have someone else's life, who would you choose? Why?
Think about the most important recent decision you made. Whose advice had the most influence on your decision?
When was the last time you let someone help you follow God?
Open up your favorite social media app. Write down the first ten influencers or accounts that come up in your feed. Then ask yourself: Which of these is helping me thrive?
Source:
Jonathan T. Pennington, The Sermon on the Mount and Human Flourishing: A Theological Commentary (Baker Academic, 2017).