By J. RICHARD CHASE One of man's oldest quests is that of satisfaction and content ment. In groping for this some times elusive commodity, people have followed the pathways of self- denial, personal gratification, and power struggles only to end up more miserable than before. The Greek philosopher, Aristotle, analyzed happiness as being the result of certain personal attributes or possessions. He included such things as noble birth, a good repu tation, health, wealth and power. In 306 B.C. Epicurus founded a school at Athens and taught that the gods were really too busy to be bothered with mankind. For this reason, man could live as he pleased, without any thought of answering to the higher beings. He
also denied that there was any life beyond the tomb. In this way, he rejected any possible judgment af ter death. He thought that such teaching would help ensure happi ness. The only true and proven pre scription for joy, however, is that which is given in the Bible. Joy is really God's response to the Chris tian's desire for a deep, meaning ful and satisfying life. WHAT IS JOY? Joy is a quality of Christian char acter. As with love and self con trol (other aspects of the fruit of the Spirit also found in Galatians 5:22 and 23), joy is not to be af fected by the normal circumstance of life. It characterizes our life Page 23
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