THE PURSUIT OF (TRUE) HAPPINESS
Jason Caros | July 3, 2023
Tomorrow is Independence Day! Two hundred and forty-seven years ago Thomas Jefferson and others wonderfully described the reasons for our nation’s liberation from Great Britain in our seminal founding document, the Declaration of Independence. Perhaps more than any other, the famous phrase “the pursuit of Happiness” sums up one of the principal American sentiments in the document—the founding generation wanted release from the political shackles of tyranny in order to pursue something else, freedom that leads to happiness. Freedom that leads to happiness…this begs a question. What is happiness (and freedom for that matter)? Before delving into the meaning of happiness, let’s look at the Declaration’s phrase in its larger context. The full sentence reads: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. This beautiful statement is rooted in eternal truths that reflect foundational Christian beliefs—there is a God who created humanity in His image and according to His likeness, we are loved equally by Him and we all share a special dignity, while we are not equal in our abilities, in certain physical characteristics and in other ways, we have natural or God-given rights and by virtue of the fact that we are all children of God we should therefore be treated justly by others and equally under the law. In a world where tyranny and authoritarianism had almost always been the norm, and where rule of law was unusual, this Founding ideal was groundbreaking, to say the least.
Countless students have memorized that famous statement “We hold these truths...that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” over the generations, but how many people really understand the meaning and implications of the philosophical-theological word “happiness?” For those that do understand the meaning, how many strive for and actually attain it? A casual observer of contemporary life could hardly fail to notice the premium placed on personal so-called “happiness.” One need not go any further than daily social media, television, radio, and magazine ads to witness the constant temptation to fulfill human cravings for pleasure. Ambrosia-like meals, cruises to distant paradise islands, dream cars, sexy chiseled bodies and perpetual entertainment are constantly flashed before peoples’ eyes and marketed as means to happiness; this view is mistaken. It is not that there is anything inherently wrong with good food, traveling on a ship, quality automobiles or exercise and fitness, but it is that the immoderate desire for these is disordered. They become attachments meant to feed one’s appetite, bringing temporary pleasures but not happiness.
Many people satisfy their desires in accordance with their financial ability, and sometimes beyond their means via credit, living from one pleasurable experience to another in a sort of hedonistic lifestyle. Some, unfortunately, go so far as to feed their desires with drugs, perverted sexual experiences, or worse, religious encounters that can be described as spiritual gluttony or mystical avarice, leaving people in the worst possible state, the state of delusion. The type of experience whereby one lives to satisfy desires is often confused with happiness or joy. The happiness, as described above, is not really happiness at all but is instead merely pleasure, a type of pleasure that is actually a distortion of the kind God has intended for us.
What is the true meaning of happiness? The American Founders were not all what some would call little “o” orthodox Christians, but they were educated in the classical system of learning like many of the teachers of the church have been historically. That is, they studied, among other subjects, Greco-Roman philosophy and classical languages, and were steeped in Natural Law principles espoused by philosophers through the ages, and they read and studied the Bible and their respective church theologies. It is with this philosophical and theological content in mind that we must understand the word “happiness” in the Declaration of Independence. In the classical understanding, which is consistent in this case with the historic Christian understanding, the word “happiness” is not synonymous with pleasure but it instead relates to virtue, or moral excellence. In a letter Benjamin Franklin sent to John Alleyne in 1768, one can see this meaning as Franklin observes, “Be in general virtuous, and you will be happy.” To be clear, this view is not a minority position among the Founders. A quick online search about Founding Fathers and virtue will illustrate that the Founders were acutely aware of the connection between virtue and happiness, and the need for a “free” people living in a republic to be virtuous.
In the specific Christian context, one can start by reading about happiness and virtue in the famous discourse given by The Lord Jesus Christ in the fifth chapter of Matthew’s gospel. In His Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes begin with the words “Blessed are…” as in “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” or “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” The English word “blessed” in this case comes from the Latin word beatitudo and it refers to a state of bliss or happiness that comes from God’s grace. In the original New Testament, the Greek word for “blessed” used in the gospel is Μακάριοι, from the root μακάριος (makarios). This word also refers to a state of happiness associated with godliness or blessedness; therefore, when applying the teaching from the Sermon the Mount and other teachings by Christ and His disciples, one who lives a pure or virtuous life is truly happy. One of the beatitudes is, “Blessed are the pure of heart for they shall see God.” Can there be greater happiness than this?
Living in the state of virtue is indeed consistent with happiness. Living for pleasure is not. According to the saints throughout history, people who strive to live in communion with God will be fulfilled in life no matter what situation befalls them. Those who live out of communion with God and merely seek pleasurable activities to placate their lust for pleasure will live out their lives in despair, constantly seeking ecstatic experiences that cloud the reality of their existence. Sadly, those who experience life in this manner are not really living freely, but living as slaves to their passions; this is the ultimate tyranny.
There are many blessings that go along with living in a “free” society, including political, economic and religious freedoms that enable us to pursue the good life, but there are also temptations and pitfalls—living well ultimately comes down to the choice between liberty and license and in a free society, people have more choices. True liberty naturally involves self-governance, responsibility and order whereas license results in self-indulgence, irresponsibility and disorder. Our Founders knew this and we know this. As children of God, created in His image and according to His likeness, we are given the means to live in a state of true happiness, to live well and ultimately live in a state of communion with God. To pursue happiness, then, means that we must use our human freedoms to walk with The Lord and live in accordance with His precepts. As the Declaration of Independence teaches, the pursuit of happiness stems from God-given natural rights, and it is these rights that no person or institution can take away. Humans have a right to be happy, and with God’s grace this happiness is attainable in this life and in the next.
Happy Independence Day!
Jason Caros is a husband, father and classical school headmaster.