What makes you happy?

What makes you happy? This question was the subject of a BBC series called “Happiness Formula” There were 6 programmes examining issues like What is happiness?; The price of happiness; the role of trust in making us happy. One of the reasons for this examination is that research has shown that Britain is less happy than in the 1950s - despite the fact that we are three times richer. The proportion of people saying they are "very happy" has fallen from 52% in 1957 to just 36% today. So what does make us happy? Many of us have been sucked into the lies; if only we had more money then we would be happy; if I purchased the right products; if I wore designer clothes then I will be happy. Shopping has become the number one leisure past time for our nation where we are all in pursuit of happiness through consumerism!  One of the reasons for this is because at the heart of consumerism is the concept of comparison with others. We struggle with being content because pressure comes on us from all angles to “keep up with the Jones” If only we had…. then I will be happy.

What does bring happiness? I believe that meaning and relationships are important and would all go someway in helping us becoming happier people. Firstly relationships, the research highlighted that people who score high on life satisfaction tend to have close and supportive family and friends, whereas those who do not have close friends and family are more likely to be dissatisfied. Secondly, those who had a strong sense of meaning and purpose to their lives were general more happy, especially if the person enjoys his or her work, whether it is paid or unpaid work, and feels that it is meaningful and important, this contributes to life satisfaction.

As a foundation for life I see spirituality really contributing to our happiness, after all it was Jesus who once said I came so you can have real life, more and better life than you ever dreamed of. And aren’t we all looking for a better life?

400 years of the King James Version of the Bible

Last summer I was talking to a farmer in his field when he suddenly bent down and plucked up a blade of green grass.  “See this,” he said, “this is a miracle!”  In the story of creation, at the beginning of Genesis, hardly had dawn broken when God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass.”  There are over 3000 types of grass with hundreds of uses.  Our word 'paper' comes from 'papyrus' a form of grass.  Grass provides straw for thatching roofs and hay for feeding cattle in the winter.  Millions of animals depend upon grass and are designed with teeth that will cut off the precious blades without pulling up the roots.

700 BC Isaiah wrote, "All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.  The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever." It is true that all flesh is grass.  When we eat bread we eat wheat which is grass!  There is no constituent in the human body that cannot be found in grass. Like grass we all fade and fall.  The brilliant brain, the beautiful body, the nimble fingers become dust.  The once inspired brush and pen lie lifeless.  The melodious voice falls silent, passions evaporate and all earthly treasures are left behind. 

This year we celebrate the 400 year anniversary of the Kings James Version (KJV) of the bible. It had a modest print run, sold loose-leaf for 10 shillings or bound for 12, and was riddled with errors, misplaced words and typos. But when published in London in 1611, a new English Bible, stamped with the royal imprimatur of King James 1, would change history. With its classical style and the majestic cadences of its poetry and prose, echoing Shakespeare and Milton, the King James Version remains the gold standard among Bibles, 400 years after its first appearance. Though supplanted by dozens of other versions that employ less archaic language, the King James Bible has burrowed into the English-speaking consciousness. Many of the KJV’s phrases, that have crept into the English language are “giving up the ghost,” “my brother’s keeper,” “salt of the earth,” “scapegoat,” “filthy lucre,” “sign of the times,” and many others.

The new KJV opened the eyes of many ordinary folks because it was published in straightforward English — for its day. My personal preference is not to read the KJV, in 2011 I think we need to present the bible, the word of God, in straightforward English for our day and generation, for me the New Living Translation is my preferred option. After all one of the main aims of the writers of the KJV was to get the Bible into the hands of the everyday man and women, something I believe is still important today.

Football you either love it or loathe it!!

Football you either love it or loathe it, and if you are a regular reader of this column you know I love it!! Last night I was at the AGM of the football club that the church I lead helped to set up, the club’s called Crossway FC. And its has been growing and developing over the past 20 yrs and recently received FA Charter Standard Status, only the 2^nd club in the Chester and District League to have this accolade. The Charter Standard Scheme is best practice guide that sets standards of coaching, administration and child protection for all clubs outside the Football League and Premier League.  It was great to celebrate the achievements of the season with the many presentations to players and club officials! Talking of celebrations, may I also offer my own to Chester FC on promotion in their very first season. Its great to see this “phoenix club” going from strength to strength in what can only be good for the city. Today was the FA Cup Final Day, the one football match when I was a boy that you could watch on TV that was “live” I have to admit to being slightly more excited than usual, this is because the football team that I have supported since I was a boy, Stoke City FC, were in the final for the very first time in their 148 year long history!  

Now what is it about football at this level that rouses such deep feelings?  Some people say that team sport is ritualised warfare.  I suppose it’s better to hoof a bag of wind around a field for 90 minutes than to lob missiles at one another.  Others see a displaced religion in the game. Certainly when you reflect on football there are some similarities to Christian worship:

Where do large crowds gather to sing and chant?

Churches and football grounds.

Where do large crowds raise their hands in the air in exultation?

Churches and football grounds.

Where do people gather to express their collective aspirations, their feelings and their emotions?

Churches and football grounds.

But of course the resemblance is only superficial.  Bread and wine is not the same as pies and Bovril.  The adulation of our football heroes falls short of worship but only just!  And all our footballers can do is play football to the limit of their ability.  They give us delight when they show their skills, and satisfaction when they win on our behalf.  So what is that makes football so religious – it’s certainly true there are some familiar characteristics with going to a football match and attending church. Where else would you find groups of adults singing and gathering together to worship? Where can you belong to a crowd of people who are all following the same thing?. We are making the players into idols, and the ‘professional game’ some would say is in crisis. The amount of money invested in the top clubs is immoral and can sometimes make the players and managers seem “god like” in their adoration and following. Don’t get me wrong I love football and I was really hoping Stoke win the FA Cup, but it is not the No 1 thing in my life; For me there is only person who is really worth following and worshipping, he is Jesus Christ, but I do think the church could learn a thing or to in how to attract more supporters and attendees from this beautiful game!

Don’t judge a book by its cover

I’m sure you’ve come across the phrase “don’t judge a book by its cover”  It means not to judge people or things by what they look like from the outside. People shouldn't be judged by how they look but be judged by their actions. It actually means that people cannot be judged by what they appear like to you at first, it is necessary to get to know them and "read" them before you can judge them It means not to judge people by the way they look or act. Something very powerful can be inside them.
A farmer had some puppies he needed to sell. He painted a sign advertising the pups and set about nailing it to a post on the edge of his farm at the side of the road. As he was driving the last nail into the post, he felt a tug on his overalls. He looked down into the eyes of a little boy.
Mister," he said, "I want to buy one of your puppies."  "Well," said the farmer, as he rubbed the sweat off the back of his neck, "these puppies come from fine parents and cost a good deal of money."  The boy dropped his head for a moment. Then reaching deep into his pocket, he pulled out a handful of change and held it up to the farmer. "I've got 89p. Is that enough to take a look?" "Sure," said the farmer.  And with that he let out a whistle, "Here, Dolly!" he called.

Out from the doghouse and down the ramp ran Dolly followed by four little balls of fur. The little boy pressed his face against the chain link fence. His eyes danced with delight. As the dogs made their way to the fence, the little boy noticed something else stirring inside the doghouse. Slowly another little ball appeared; this one noticeably smaller. Down the ramp it slid. Then in a somewhat awkward manner the little pup began hobbling toward the others, doing its best to catch up....
"I want that one," the little boy said, pointing to the runt. The farmer knelt down at the boy's side and said, "Son, you don't want that puppy. He will never be able to run and play with you like these other dogs would." With that the little boy stepped back from the fence, reached down, and began rolling up one leg of his trousers. In doing so he revealed a steel brace running down both sides of his leg attaching itself to a specially made shoe. Looking back up at the farmer, he said, "You see sir, I don't run too well myself, and he will need someone who understands."

Now the world is full of people who need someone who understands and for us to understand we must not make our judgment of them from what we just see on the outside! So next time you meet someone for the first time, ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’!!

How can I know God exists?

In the course of my work I will sometimes be asked by a person one of the most difficult questions to answer, how do I know God exists? I always admit it’s not the easiest question to answer especially in just a single sentence, however I do find this short illustration might helps

If you put a buzzard in a pen six or eight feet square and entirely open at the top, the bird, in spite of his ability to fly, will be an absolute prisoner. The reason is that a buzzard always begins a flight from the ground with a run of ten or twelve feet. Without space to run, as is his habit, he will not even attempt to fly, but will remain a prisoner for life in a small jail with no top. The ordinary bat that flies around at night, a remarkable nimble creature in the air, cannot take off from a level place. If it is placed on the floor or flat ground, all it can do is shuffle about helplessly and, no doubt, painfully, until it reaches some slight elevation from which it can throw itself into the air. Then, at once, it takes off like a flash. A Bumblebee if dropped into an open tumbler will be there until it dies, unless it is taken out. It never sees the means of escape at the top, but persists in trying to find some way out through the sides near the bottom. It will seek a way where none exists, until it completely destroys itself.

In many ways, there are lots of people like the buzzard, the bat and the bee. They are living their life with all their problems and frustrations, not realizing that the answer is right there above them. All we need to do to begin the answer to our question about God is to begin to look at life through the eyes of faith and then we may be able to see that God can be found as we begin to look in the right directions. Symbolically we need to look up, away from ourselves to look to heaven, not that heaven is literally above us but to realise that the Kingdom of Heaven (God) is actually very near and we access it by faith in believing the good news about Jesus Christ.