CHRIST IN WINTER:
Reflections on Faith for the Years of Winter
From time to time, I see
the phrase, “You deserve to be happy.” It’s often in an ad for some product or
seminar or event that will replace your tears with smiles.
When I was speaking often
at gatherings of cancer patients, it was not unusual for someone to say, “When
I told my husband I had been diagnosed with cancer, he said, ‘I can’t deal with
this. I deserve to be happy,’ and he left.”
“Happiness” is often a
code word for “selfishness.”
I’m not sure about
deserving. Why does anyone deserve anything?
So often we settle for
happiness when we could have joy. There’s nothing wrong with happiness. It’s a
good thing. But if you think you deserve it, that’s a chimera, and it leads you
into the long weeds. But if you know that happiness is a gift, that opens the
door to joy.
JRMcF
johnrobertmcfarland@gmail.com
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