Matthew 5:1-11 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

5 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.

Happiness Aspirations

When I first read Gretchin Rubin’s book,“The Happiness Project” in 2016 I was gung-ho to start my own project. I followed the details of her outline. This meant that each month had a different theme with 8 resolutions and a resource book.

The ultimate goal was to be living according to most, if not all, of my resolutions by the end of that New Year. 

I was pumped! 

Never had I stepped into a New Year with such an advanced strategy.

What I had failed to prepare for were the challenges that were likely to come. I plunged into the first month’s happiness resolution of organization. I read “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up” by Marie Kondo and started decluttering our home one category at a time. I started with clothes. Easy, right!? 15 minutes in and I was in tears on our bedroom floor.

Things were not looking good.

I managed to work my way through the Kondo Method of decluttering until I was at the last category: the kitchen. Then, disaster struck! We found a mouse infestation. A specialist was brought in to do away with the pests but for two weeks the house was turned upside down.

It felt like all the organizing had been for naught and I was worn out.

The Struggle is Real

If you’ve had struggles fulfilling your NewYear’s/Happiness resolutions then you’re in good company!

The point of Happiness Resolutions isn’t to be perfect, but it’s to help us grow.

Things often didn’t go the way Jesus wanted. He was frequently faced with obstacles and logistical hiccups. The above listed scripture (Matthew 5:1-11) is a perfect example of this. Jesus was constantly followed by crowds.  Plus, there was incessant debate and dissension among his disciples.

As soon as Jesus left one town, there was yet another town of people waiting to meet him, seeking his healing powers and miraculous acts. Add to this nonstop preaching and teaching. The pace had to be exhausting.

Jesus tried to get away for a rest. Like when he attempted to take a nap on the boat in Mark 4:38. The disciples got scared of a storm and woke him up. Another time he wanted to pray alone and have some solitude. Then, Matthew 14, he’s stopped by crowds asking him questions and seeking his guidance.

It’s in the midst of all this flurry and activity that Jesus went up on top of a mountain and gave the famous sermon,“The Sermon on the Mount.”

Sermon on the Mount

Jesus talks about different things in this sermon but the most famous part of it is a list of statements called “The Beatitudes.” Each Beatitude begins with the same word that can be translated in one of two ways:

• • Blessed are

Or 

• • Happy are

To be blessed, in the ancient latin and greek context, means: to be “supremely happy.”

In Rubin’s book,“The Happiness Project” she spells out a key point to happiness which she calls, “The First Splendid Truth” which states:“To be happy think about feeling good, feeling bad, and feeling right in an atmosphere of growth.”

In order to be happy, the kind of divine happiness that Jesus is talking about, we need to identify what brings us joy (ie:What makes us feel good) and what we do not like (ie:What takes away our joy or makes us feel bad.)

There’s a BIG caveat here, if we only thought about our personal likes and dislikes we’d be missing the greatest component of all: That of the divine “right” or the kingdom perspective.

So what, in other words, causes us -within our likes and dislikes- to grow, and to do what is right, despite our particular personalities?

For instance, I really really love-Not just like but LOVE- dark chocolate.  Also, I really don’t like white chocolate. It just seems like a joke. But it wouldn’t be right to eat only dark chocolate everyday.  If I want to be healthy I have to balance my diet  and keep this love within healthy boundaries. I need to balance my dark chocolate with my broccoli and apples.

Expand this thought to your own life. If you are an introvert you might really love alone time. In fact, with out it, you don’t function well.  It would be a harm to your witness if you didn’t do what is right and take time away in quiet and solitude.

Tears of Happiness

Jesus’ beatitudes force us to ask: How can we take our likes and dislikes and use them for the kingdom?

To read the word “Happy” into these beatitudes with the modern world’s definition of the word seems ludicrous.

How can someone who mourns be happy?

How can someone who is persecuted be happy?

These beatitudes are a challenge to the world’s perspective and they are a challenge to us. Living with these beatitudes in mind is going to cause you to live in an atmosphere of growth.

Where there is growth there are growing pains. Doing what is right often requires sacrifice.  Learning to embrace our God-given likes and dislikes can force us to face who we really are and what God created us to be despite what the world tells us we 

Should be

Should like

And Should dislike.

Happiness is not about wearing a smile.  It’s about identifying a wellspring of being that is divine.

What landed me on the floor of my bedroom weeping in January 2018 in the midst of my first happiness resolution new year was being confronted with a piece of clothing that had belonged to my grandmother. It’s a lovely blue and grey sweater and every time I wear it I think of her. Seeing it in the midst of my closet clean out, it struck me just how much loss I had experienced that year. Her death, was just one major ending that I had walked through. The realization of this fact hit me like a ton of bricks.I was able to stand back up and fold the sweater neatly and appreciate that it was now in a lovely organized wardrobe

But not without some tears first.

The happiness that Jesus’ kingdom brings comes with sacrifice.  True happiness requires resolution despite the difficulties, drudgeries, and setbacks we face.    

Approximately 80% of resolutions are abandoned by February so we need to set ourselves up for success.

Strategies for Success

Here are some key strategies from Rubin’s “Happiness Project” and “Happier Than Before” that we can employ to help us stay kingdom minded.

Strategy of scheduling:

• “Something that can happen at anytime, often happens at no time”(G.R.)
• Take some time this week and schedule your resolution into your life.

Strategy of Accountability:

• Do you have a Happiness resolution partner or group? If not, get one this week!
• It can be a friend, spouse, parent, child, coworker, small group, etc. Share your resolutions and decide how and when you’re going to check in ( schedule it!)

Strategy of Monitoring:

• No matter what your goal, there is either an app to monitor it or you can create a check list for it.
• Just a daily check in on your own calendar to mark that you’ve met your resolution for that day or week works.

Strategy of Self-Awareness:

Set yourself up to succeed by scheduling and monitoring in ways that sync with your personality.  The two best and most useful tools that I know of are:

• The enneagram personality type test
• And The 4 Tendencies Test by Gretchen Rubin

Strategy of Convenience/Inconvenience:

• If you want to make sure you do something, you want to make it as convenient as possible.
• If you want to not do something, the opposite is also true.  You need to make it as inconvenient as possible.
• “We are enormously influenced by the tiniest change of convenience and inconvenience.”(G.R.)
• If your resolution is to pray for your family each day have your prayer spot set, your picture of your family, your devo, Bible, whatever you need right there together in the same spot that you want to pray in. 

Strategy of Safeguards:

• Plan for failure.
• Stop and think ahead  in your schedule and consider where you might fall short of your resolution.
• Put some safeguards in place to help you.  If your resolution is to take a daily walk, keep a pair of walking shoes with you at work and in your vehicle so you’ve got them no matter what. 
• Consider the excuses you’ll most likely make and then create safeguard to keep yourself from using them.  

Application:

1.) Take the Enneagram test or the 4 Tendencies test.  After reading about your type decide which strategy would be most helpful to you and try it.

2.) Take with either the Enneagram test or the 4 Tendencies test with a friend.  After reading about your types look through the strategies with your friend, then both pick one to try out based on what you understand about your personality.  Check in with each other weekly for a month and share what worked and what didn’t.  

Blessings Y’all,

Rev. Wren