The Greatest Key to Your Happiest Life

One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned is that you can’t be both selfish and happy. I know this is true through my personal experience, but more importantly, the Bible has some things to say about the attitude we should have about self.

For example,1 Corinthians 13:5 (NIV) says love “is not self-seeking.” Some Scriptures teach us the importance of having self-control. Galatians 5:23 lists self-control as a fruit of the Spirit, and 2 Timothy 1:7 says that in Christ, we have “power, love and self-discipline” (NIV).

If you’ve lived very long, you realize that not being selfish requires self-control because we’re all born with a selfish human nature. Think about how babies act: they are only concerned with what they need and usually cry when they don’t get their way.

When we experience new life in Christ, we die to sin (Romans 6:11). But even though we die to sin, sin does not die. That’s why we have to continually make the decision over and over again to choose to do the right thing on purpose. And we have what it takes, in Christ, to do what’s right.

Discover Your True Destiny

We’re destined to be molded into the image of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29), and Jesus is the greatest example of what it means to love others and not live a selfish life. First John 3:16 says, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters” (NIV).

Jesus gave everything when He demonstrated His love for us.

Loving others is not always easy, and it always costs us something: time, money, convenience … But through our relationship with Christ, we can find the strength to love others, even when it seems to cost more than we think we can give. And when we do, we end up receiving more joy and peace than we had before.

It’s important to understand that God doesn’t expect you to take this to such an extreme that you don’t take care of yourself. In following Jesus’ example, remember to make your relationship with God your top priority and do what He puts in your heart to do.

Get the Right Mindset

The world is full of lonely, hurting people who desperately need the love of God and the hope that is only found in Jesus. I want to encourage you to get rid of a “What about me?” mindset and instead pray, “God, show me someone whom I can help.”

I used to be self-centered and focused on getting my way all the time. And I was miserable! But now I am happier than I’ve ever been because I don’t spend all my time thinking about what I want, what I think, and how I feel. The truth is, you can’t be happy if the center of your life is you!

Imagine how different the world would be if everyone would do one nice thing to help someone else every day. It can be so simple to put a smile on someone’s face: give a compliment, give something away, take the time to listen, open a door for someone, let someone go before you in line at the store … the list could go on and on.

Make it your business to reach out to people around you, encouraging them, and meeting their needs as you are able to do it. Be determined each day to do at least one thing for someone else that makes their life better. Trust me: You’ll discover that serving God by loving others is the most wonderful thing you can do!