Price Tag

How much does happiness cost? What is the actual, non-negotiable price tag for being content? I'm not too certain that many people go around placing a sticker price on happiness, but I would say that I see a society today that is driven to have more. Buy more, attain a higher position in your work life, while the old adage "Keeping up with the Jones'" has been replaced with "Pass up the Jones' and anybody else that is in front of me!" Our society is chasing after something elusive and I'm here to share today that I just don't think money, riches, or fame can provide what a large portion of our world believes is attached to a number with several zeroes following behind. 

On my way to work each day I pass a billboard that projects the current lottery jackpot totals. It amazes me that the prize totals at times reach upward of one billion dollars. What I really find peculiar is that when the prize is 30, 40, or even 100 million dollars there doesn't seem to be that much excitement. Wouldn't even a prize of one million dollars be grand? But as I said, the news media doesn't even give a mention of the lottery until it bounces well beyond the 800-900 million dollar range. Why? Would suddenly "winning" a billion dollars make someone happier than someone else that just won 500 million dollars? Based on several news stories about mega lottery winners who end up broke, divorced, or dead at an early age due to drugs or other vices, my guess is the answer is a solid "No". The thought must be I don't want a million dollars, I want ten million dollars, but then the next person says well I don't want ten million I want 100 million, and the next demands 500 million, and it goes on and on and on. What are all those mega winners  going to buy that someone with one million dollars can't buy? My thought is that someone driven in this manner believes they will be happy if they can just win a little more than the guy that won the lottery just before him. Point in place, John D. Rockefeller, arguably one of the richest men in history was once asked how much money was enough, Rockefeller quickly retorted, "Just a little bit more". The question begs to be asked, if riches make someone feel fulfilled, then how much wealth is required to reach that nirvana? 

Unfortunately, happiness is not found at the end of the rainbow in a pot of gold. Unfortunately, the rise to power and fame only leads most people to want more power and more fame, never feeling fulfilled with their status as it stands. The elusive search for happiness in bank account totals or the number of Oscar winning performances isn't the only evidence available. In our daily lives the average home has 3-4 bathrooms, 4-5 bedrooms, and a typical new home is running upwards of $500,000. +. I mean the United States is labelled as one of the wealthiest countries in the world, but if that is true, why is it that the divorce rate in the U.S. hovers around 40%, and drug or alcohol addictions rank high among the rich and famous? My guess is these folks are looking for something to make them happy and they just don't seem to have enough money to get them to that happy place. Sadly, I don't believe the vast majority of our society will ever find happiness in their wealth. In the book of Matthew 16:29 Jesus asked his disciples this question, "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, but forfeits his soul?" In other words, I don't believe there is a price tag for happiness. So, if we can't find happiness in riches or wealth, status or position, where does happiness reside?

 A current Contemporary Christian song by the band Cochren & Company harnessed my attention recently. In the song,  "Money Can't Buy" the vocalist lays it out there pretty quick and pretty straightforward "Oh Lord give me eyes to see that what I need don't cost a thing, You fill my life with somethin' money can't buy!" What is that "somethin'", and why can't it be bought? This song speaks to my soul, you can't buy happiness, there isn't a dollar amount attached to being content that you can set as a goal, and as Rockefeller so aptly replied, "just a little bit more" unfortunately, will never be enough. Happiness is found in the life you have been given and the people that fill that life each day. I believe Cochren & Company nailed it with the line from the song that goes like this, "It's the peace that comes from perfect love. The wonder in the stars, the beating in my heart. Sometimes you gotta stop, and look at what you got, and that's when you realize, ooh, the gift it is to be alive." For those that reach the place where they understand what true happiness is, that is the "somethin" being described in the song. 

If you aren't happy with your life, money, riches, position or status won't get you there. It is a sad state of affairs for those who are caught up in the rat race of life striving for "just a little bit more".  That little bit more just becomes a part of the never ending chase for happiness in the things of this world. Again in the book of Matthew 6:19-21, Jesus spoke about wealth and the futile efforts that storing up earthly treasures creates. Instead Jesus directed us to store up our treasures in Heaven where the impact is eternal. Don't allow the chase after shiny things that will only rust and dull to fill your days, seek the happiness that is found in knowing and serving Christ. Paul said it best in Philippians 4:11-13 when he stated that his contentment is found in Christ and the life-giving flow of love that is only found in Him. That my friend is the "somethin money can't buy". If you have it, you know what I'm talking about, if you don't have it, get it today, it is available and it doesn't cost a thing! 

"For the wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord"         Romans 6:23

Coach Carter