In 2006, Will Smith starred in an inspiring true story entitled, The Pursuit of Happiness. The film was about a struggling salesman named Christopher Gardner who pursues a career as a stockbroker. This business venture takes him and his son from rags to riches.
Although everyone will agree that this film properly represents the idea of "The American Dream," one must ask, "Does a lucrative career bring joy that lasts?" People universally pursue happiness and invest their lives in all types of endeavors hoping to fill the void inside them. The problem they find, however, is that the “pursuit of happiness” can be endless leaving them ultimately unsatisfied.
When one pursues created things rather than the creator, they settle for far less than what was intended. John Piper affirms, "None of us has trusted and treasured God the way we should. We have not been satisfied with his greatness and walked in his ways. We have sought our satisfaction in other things, and treated them as more valuable than God."
Those who delight in created things will only find temporary happiness because only the creator provides lasting joy and because those who do not enjoy God in this life are subject to His just condemnation in the life to come. According to Piper, "We have all belittled the glory of God. How? By preferring other things above him. By our ingratitude, distrust and disobedience. So God is just in shutting us out from the enjoyment of his glory forever.”
Only through Christ can lasting joy be found. Because of his death and resurrection, believers are rescued from the misery of sin and death and are also able to experience the joy God intended. According to Piper, "Coming home to God is where all deep and lasting satisfaction is found."
Piper, John. "Quest for Joy: Six Biblical Truths" www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary
