July 19, 2011 (pursuit of happiness)

pursuit of happiness

“One of the worst injustices the church
has perpetuated against its members
is proclaiming a message of the evil of desire.
God created us with a longing to be thrilled,
hungry for the joy of being fascinated.
Yet we have told people to stop wanting
and to stop yearning;
we’ve urged them to ignore, suppress,
or anesthetize their desire for happiness.
And, if such teachings should fail,
we have worked hard to make them feel
the sting of guilt and shame.
All this will do is drive passion underground,
so to speak, only to have it erupt
at some moment of weakness
when temptation offers a fleeting fulfillment.”
- Sam Storms

“The single most important principle
I ever discovered is this:
the goal or purpose of the Christian
is precisely the pursuit of happiness – in God.
The reason for this is that there is no greater way
to glorify God than to find in Him
the happiness that my soul so desperately craves.”
- Sam Storms

“The reason we resist God’s laws
and pursue our own sinful strategies
is because we believe that we
can do better at securing our happiness
than God can.”
- Sam Storms