Truth #18 from Lies Women Believe is Personal holiness is more important than temporal happiness. My happiness is not the highest good, nor is it my right. God did not save us to make us happy or so that we can live for ourselves or our own pleasure. He saved us so that we can be free to live for Him. We were created for His pleasure. Holiness requires sacrifices of our own personal comfort and convenience. But any sacrifice we make cannot be compared with the joy and fulfillment we will gain in eternity.
Ephesians 5:26-27 "...to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless."
I think this is one of the areas our current culture has been terribly deceived about. Everyone thinks that the goal of life is to be happy. And people are willing to do anything that they think will bring them more happiness. More money, bigger house, new car, different spouse, better job, on and on it goes in the search for "happiness". None of those things will ever make you happy. You'll drive yourself crazy if all you do is frantically search for happiness. That longing in your soul for "happiness" can only be filled by God. And it's not really an ache for happiness, but for holiness.
The first time I really started to understand this was after reading Sacred Marriage. The basis of the book is that God uses marriage to make you holy, not happy. That very much goes against most people's reasoning for getting (or staying) married. But as I grow in my marriage, I am learning how true that really is. And marriage is just one example. Really, all experiences and relationships here on earth are designed for the purpose of glorifying God and drawing you closer to Him.
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