One of the greatest desires all of mankind has is obtain love. After that would probably be happiness, which is often regarded as the counterpart to love, but which can also be found in the form of other things, tangible or intangible. Some people place their source of happiness in money, power, fame, relationships, career, etc. and spend their lives pursuing the success or love. Others look to ideologies to fulfill their hearts and minds, living “good” lives with the thought that their goodness can make them happier people. Some people will say, “I am happy when I get to hang out with my friends and have no homework for this weekend”, while others may say, “What would make me happy is if I get that job I applied for”. Every individual defines happiness in a personal way and there are so many notions of what happiness is.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, suicide rates per 100,000 people in 2005 America was 10.1 while countries like Korea and Hungary had higher ratings of 21.5 and 19.6 per 100,000 respectively. There are, of course, other factors to be considered when looking at statistics, such as cultural preferences for or against suicide or religious views on suicide. Still, there are many people who are not happy, whether or not they express it by taking their lives. When looking at all the trouble in the world: the sex-trafficking, genocide, child abuse, domestic abuse, torture, wars, famine, natural disasters…it can be hard to see the happiness previously mentioned because even if it is not our lives that are mutilated or lost, the existence of others’ pain and suffering cannot be denied. Those in more fortunate circumstances can do one of two things: ignore the troubles of others and live their lives to fulfill themselves, or do their best to solve the problems of the world. But really, unhappiness is inescapable for anyone. Pizza can get cold and loved ones can be lost. Money can be stolen and tsunamis can devastate cities. There is a limit to what humanity can do to create or maintain its happiness because happiness is dependent on circumstance.
What is the difference between happiness and joy? While happiness is more external and temporary, joy is both internal and eternal. Joy does not rely on people or money or safety. Joy is something that expands beyond the boundaries of one’s world, the people they meet, the places they go, the things they see. From a spiritual point of view, joy is rooted in things that do not change, such as the truth, or what people hold to be the truth. Happiness is correlated with everything that affects an individual, but joy is within oneself. Joy is often used to describe an overwhelming sense of freeing, uplifting emotion. It is deeper than the feeling of happiness. In fact, the word happy comes from the Old Norse, olden North German language, word hap, which means “lucky”, “chance”, or “fortune”. This is why the word happy is not found in the Bible because it connects whatever it is describing to circumstance, constricting the validity of such emotion. Joy, on the other hand, is not necessarily based on emotion and does not rely on situation to exist.
In everyday language, the word happiness is used more frequently than the word joy is. A friend said that she could define and understand what happiness was, but that the feeling of joy was a more elusive concept. The way we view words has been cultivated and influenced by history and today the word joy is quite often illustrated with spiritual meaning. In the Bible, God instructs his people to take joy in Him. Many times joy is correlated with hope, because even in trials the believer can be filled with joy. In Psalms 5:11-12, it says, “ But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you. For you bless the righteous, O LORD; you cover him with favor as with a shield”. This verse tells of the protection God provides and the joy that comes from such an aspect of faithfulness. There is a sense of completeness that derives from the attainment of joy, a sense of security amongst all the insecurities. It may be difficult to define or pinpoint, beyond the understanding of happiness, but the existence of joy is something people can acknowledge. We can perceive its existence by some moments in our lives, but what would be even better is if the human heart takes hold of that joy, believing in the promise that the light will shine through the darkness.
It is not happy people who are thankful; it is thankful people who are happy!
人類最大的渴求就是愛，其次可能就是快樂，而人們往往把這兩樣，混為一談。其實，快樂也可以從別的看得見或看不見的東西中找到。有人把快樂的源頭放在金錢、權力、名譽、關係、或事業上，因此，窮一生去追求成功或愛情。有人嘗試在意識形態中，找尋心之所安。他們會樂善好施、敬虔度日，他們深信「善行」可以讓他們成為一個快樂的人。有人認為快樂是，跟朋友在一起，不用在功課堆中過週末。也有人相信找到自己心儀的工作，就是快樂。每個人都會用自己的角度來詮釋快樂，因此，每個人對快樂的定義，不儘然一樣。
《查尼布朗，你是個好人》電影中的一首插曲，有這樣的歌詞：快樂是在尋找一枝鉛筆……義大利香腸餡餅……能夠準確報時……快樂是你所愛的人，你所愛的事。同樣地，許多人都能在生活中，如飽嚐一個義大利香腸餡餅，或買一輛新車等瑣事上尋到快樂。雖然，這些東西所帶來的快樂並不能持之以久，但是，這也正是許多在尋找快樂的人所面對的困惑–他們都找錯了地方！
根據美國人口普查中心统計，2005年，美國的自殺率為10.1/100,000，韓國為21.5/100,000, 匈牙利為19.6/100,000。雖然，我們必須把諸如：各地文化及宗教對自殺的觀點等其他因素，納入考慮範圍之內，然而，我們不得不承認，不管他們是否採取終結生命為表達方式–許多人是不快樂的。放眼世界的種種問題：色情非法交易、大屠殺、虐兒、家暴、酷刑、戰爭、旱災、自然災害等，我們實在很難看到剛剛提及的所謂的快樂。因為，雖然受苦的不是我們，然而，別人所遭遇到苦難，卻是那麼地真實。不管我們這些比較幸運的人選擇視而不見，或是嘗試改變世界，我們必須承認不快樂是在所難免的。義大利餡餅會涼掉、所愛的人會離去、金錢會被盜取、城市會被海嘯沖毁。在製造以及維持快樂這事上，人是非常有限的，因為這些快樂往往都是建立在環境之上！
那麼，快樂和喜樂又有什麼分別呢？快樂是較為外在和短暫的，喜樂則是內在和持久的。喜樂的源頭不在於別人、金錢或安全。喜樂可以跨越地域的界限，不受所遇到的人、所到過的地方、所看過的事物等規範。從屬靈的角度去看，喜樂是根植在那些不會改變的東西上，好像真理，或人所持守與真理有關的事物。快樂和那些能直接影響個人的事物息息相關，而喜樂卻是發自內心。喜樂是一種自由、超越和令人振奮的情感，比快樂來得更深。事實上，快樂(happy)一詞來自遠古德國北部的一種語言，「hap」有著僥倖、機遇和好運的意思。正因為它把這種情緒，限制在如此狹隘的範疇裡，所以我們不會在聖經中找出快樂這個詞彙。另一方面，喜樂則不一定建基在情緒的反應上，也不須要倚賴著環境。
日常生活中，快樂這詞彙比喜樂更多為人所用。我的朋友告訴我，她能理解快樂是什麽，可是喜樂對她來說倒是個蠻抽象的概念。我們對詞彙的看法，是會受到歷史的影響及薰陶的。現今的世代，人們常會從屬靈的角度來闡釋喜樂。神藉著聖經告訴衪的百姓，要在衪裡面喜樂。許多時候，喜樂會跟希望連在一起，因為就是在試練中，信徒們還是可以充滿喜樂。詩篇5篇11-12節，說：「凡投靠你的，願他們喜樂，時常歡呼，因為你護庇他們；又願那愛你名的人都靠你歡欣。」經文告訴我們，神的保護，及信靠衪而來的喜樂，當中涵括了從喜樂而來的完全，在動盪裡仍能安穩的意思。這概念很難去解釋或定準，更跨越了快樂的層面，但是，這卻是許多人真實的經驗。我們可以在生活的點滴中，看到它的存在。但是，人類若能真的掌握著這樣的喜樂，相信真光可以照透黑暗的那應許，豈不是更好嗎？
不是快樂的人才會感恩；而是感恩的人才會快樂！
◎ Rebecca Ger 葛虹, 女, 20 歲