Mercy Leads To Happiness

Mercy Leads To Happiness | August 8, 2023

A common theme among people is that they just want to be happy. When you are happy, you tend to worry less and smile more. Being happy puts a bounce in your step and a twinkle in your eye. In addition, happiness produces a delightful and infectious attitude. Thus, the issue of happiness is not a matter of if you want it but, instead, how you can achieve it.

People think prosperity, possessions, popularity, and pleasure are the primary reasons for happiness. While an abundance of those areas can undoubtedly change your perspective and mood, they are short-term propositions at best. See, lasting and legitimate happiness comes from following God's instructions, mainly the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:1-11. In what is regarded as the first recorded teachings of Jesus, the Sermon on the Mount opens with Jesus explaining the pathway to blessing, which is synonymous with happiness. Most of these teachings seem counterintuitive because they go against the grain of our selfish thinking. Matthew 5:7 is a prime example when it says, "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy."
Notice again; "blessed" is interchangeable with the word "happy." Those who are blessed or happy show mercy to other people. The blessing is that God smiles on such people by increasing His compassion and kindness upon them. Therefore, whenever you hold your tongue when someone might deserve otherwise, you're making a decision that will lead to more happiness. The same holds for relinquishing your desire to lash out or seek revenge. Your joy grows exponentially when you not only respond righteously, but you add kindness to your reactions.

In Luke 6:35-36, Jesus expanded this understanding of mercy when He taught: "But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful."

If you want to be happy, apply God's counsel and reflect His mercy in your treatment of others. Doing so will reduce stress, increase your calmness, improve your attitude, and give you the peace of God.