How to Be Happy – Part 2

After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before. Job 42:10

Helping others brings happiness, but selfishness never can. A ragged urchin stood looking into a sweet shop window. A man came along and observed the scene, took him inside and said to the saleslady, ‘Fill a bag with every kind of sweet he wants.’ The boy couldn’t believe his luck. As he filled his mouth with sugary delights, his benefactor asked, ‘Is that good, son?’ He nodded in the affirmative: ‘Uh huh.’ Then the man asked, ‘Could I have some?’ Immediately the boy’s look of joy turned to fear, and clutching the bag he ran away shouting, ‘Mine, mine!’ Happiness doesn’t come by getting; it comes by forgetting yourself and living for others. Job, one of the richest men in his day, lost his health, his wealth, and his family. It’s hard to imagine, right? Then an amazing thing happened: ‘The Lord restored Job’s losses, when he prayed for his friends’ (v. 10). Job actually got back twice what he lost. How? By reaching out to others instead of dwelling on his own problems. And that principle still works today. Jesus warned, ‘Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesses’ (Luke 12:15). God blesses you for one reason: to make you a blessing to others. You’re not supposed to be a warehouse—but a clearing house. For every verse in Scripture that promises material success, there’s another that speaks of the dangers of hoarding. So the word for you today is: helping others brings happiness, but selfishness never can.

Prayer
Heavenly Father help me each day to remember that I am blessed to be a blessing to others! In Jesus’ Name, Amen