The Happiness Quotient
I have been reading Paul Schervish’s book, “Wealth and the Will of God” and I highly recommend it. There are many aspects of wealth, and one that Mr. Schervish explores is the concept of happiness. A recent conversation with a pastor about a donor proved this book timely and formative for my own thinking. I cannot share who the pastor is, but only the essence of what I took away from our talk. Let us just say that a new member has, by participating in the Pastors’ Bible Study/prayer group, deepened their faith journey. Finding that pearl of faith has resulted in profound gratitude and generosity. The person expressed joy in being able to support the church financially.
What I also sensed was the happiness of the pastor. As a lay person, sometimes I forget what a responsibility the called and ordained have in being a channel, a vehicle of Christ. When I engage and trust my pastor to help me grow in my relationship with Jesus, my pastor shares in both my struggles and Holy Spirit-filled moments. This is a shared gift that I desire and one that my pastor treasures. My life of faith, rooted in gratitude, is the source of true happiness and joy. In speaking about our relationship with God, Augustine said, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds rest in you.” In finding our faith, we find our true self, and we find that our acts of generosity are participating with Christ, not merely acts of autonomous benevolence.
It seems to me that a pastor’s work and vocation is helping me get closer to Christ, to live a Christ-centered life and experience Christ-centered giving; to be happy. I wonder how many pastors are happy in their work, and how many pastors feel bogged down by administrative tasks. This could be said of lay folk as well. How many of us are tired of being the ones to manage the church finances and building, or the next church supper? Could it be that we are so restless keeping the church going that we did not find time to rest in Christ?
From a stewardship perspective, the joy factor in measuring the happiness quotient is generosity. St. Paul tells us that God loves a hilarious giver. And like our pastor who shares in our faith experience, our God delights in our abundant generosity. The joy experienced in sacrificial giving cannot be understated. Small donations have little positive effect on our spiritual life; in fact, making a habit of nominal giving creates hardheartedness within us. Giving that comes from deep within the heart, that emanates like tangible prayers, is sacrificial. However, giving from a place of duty or pride is not sacrificial but a burden at best, or a quid pro quo at worst. Sacrifice means to make holy, and pure holiness is God and God is love. St. Paul warned us that if we make major gifts – to use today’s language – for our own pleasure and accolades, we are just making noise. The key is to give out of love, charity; to give out of God, in and through Christ.