Truly Happy and Peaceful in this Life?

Jun P. Espina         8 min read

Updated on February 17th, 2020

A Way to be Truly Happy and Peaceful

Christina Onassis, daughter of one of the wealthiest men in the world, Aristotle Onassis, died at age 37 “from a pulmonary edema that may have occurred as a side effect of diet or sleeping pills.” She “was married four times, all ending in divorces….Her brother Alexander died in a plane crash in 1973 and her mother died of drug overdose in 1974.” [en.wikipedia.org, 07-17-2016] The Bill Gates of the shipping world, the Onassis empire was handed over to Athina Roussel, Christina’s only child. Do you envy Christina’s life story of extreme riches and agony? How to be truly happy and peaceful in this life? Or, let’s change the question. Which is better: to be rich but unhappy or poor but happy and peaceful?

Be Both Rich and Truly Happy

Christina Onassis

The Bible says we can be both rich and happy—yes, truly happy and peaceful! Says Proverbs 10:22: “It is the blessing of the LORD that makes rich, And He adds no sorrow to it.” The believers of the God of the Holy Scriptures are also specially blessed as taught in Psalm 1:3. It says, “He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers.”  We must claim God’s promise to us: “And in whatever he does, he prospers.” The common expression that it’s good to be poor but happy is not at all universally accepted as a better guiding principle of life. Wrote Robert Kiyosaki, author of “Rich Dad, Poor Dad,” that although it is true that “The love of money is the root of all evil,” it is equally true that “The lack of money is the root of all evil.” We need to have a little financial education, Kiyosaki insisted.

“The Bible says we can be both rich and happy—yes, truly happy and peaceful!”

We cannot equate riches to smuggling of goods, cruelty, and other shapes of criminality. Rich people are just being trusted by their thousands of employees and business partners. Those wealthy but notorious guys popping up on TV for their crimes are just very few among the affluent families. Meet these rich folks who have climbed up the business ladder from scarcity if you want to make acquaintance with the truly humble people in their best cars and beautiful houses.

God wants us all to be rich, happy and peaceful in this sojourn. “‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.'” (Jer. 29:11-13) God has plans for our welfare, not for our calamity! The public impression that the rich are abusive is baseless, since you don’t want to have enemies when you have the money. If we are poor it is because we chose the comfort zone, our good-to-be-poor culture; we preferred our sentimentality and prejudgment over risky ventures and work-laden opportunities. Jacob did not blame God when his father-in-law abused him. He just worked out his fancied destination to stand alone and build his huge family of twelve sons by four women.

Christ once said, “Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” (John 14:13). Yes, we can be both rich and happy. The key word in John 14:13 (to put the verse into action, so to say) is “glorified.” To be more exact: “so that the Father may be GLORIFIED in the Son.” It is the only reason given here for Christ to hear and answer “Whatever you ask in My name.” Giving Christ the glory by believing and trusting in Him in everything is also tantamount to giving the glory to the Father in heaven. We cannot glorify the Father without honoring the Son first since “no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6 KJV)

We need to keep in mind that Christ Jesus is glorified with what we have. From His lordship and shepherding over our God-given lives flow the things we possess and the peace and happiness we enjoy. He’s glorified if we look like angels, because we’ve food on our table, and we’ve time to groom ourselves because we’ve money in our pockets. He’s not glorified if we live in pain and hunger. Everything being equal, God was also glorified with Lazarus’ poverty. John 14:13, however, is about “Whatever you ask in My name.” What would be Christ’s answer should we tell Him in our prayers that “Lord, I’m poor, I have a health issue, I have a relationship tsunami, etc.”? Well, He would say: “Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do…on one condition that such would redound to My glory…My glory is also My Father’s.”

The Problem with Most Rich People

The problem with most rich people starts when money becomes their god—their source of power and protection. Most of them live life in turmoil and confusion. They are not truly happy and peaceful in life. God said that He would add no sorrows to your wealth only if you believe it as God’s blessing to you. “It is the blessing of the LORD that makes rich, And He adds no sorrow to it,” says Proverbs. Without faith that God owns everything, then we could never be happy in this world. Christina Onassis died just like an ordinary person; she stopped breathing, and although she was rich, her millions didn’t help her a single breath. She died with a death that came to her doors like a thief in the night—without any hospital care money can buy!

How to be Truly Peaceful and Happy Then?

God Intends to Give to Us the Desires of Our Heart. It’s not a good idea to attack riches when we’ve never been into that world yet. For God plans for our peace and happiness in this domain. In an aircraft high above ground the earth is blue, but at close distance, it is verdant green. If wealth is likened to a city, how can we describe it when we haven’t gone there yet? Or, if you’re a preacher or teacher, how can you correctly teach that wealth is evil when you don’t have it? Have you noticed those lawmakers who are anti-business? Why are they like that? Simple—they don’t have a business of their own! Or have you noticed a pro-employee labor law, because the guys who drafted it were employees all their lives and have never had an employee in their lifetime? The wealth of Christina Onassis gave her so much pain. The wealth of Abraham, Jacob, and Job gave them so much peace and joy in believing that God is so good to them. “It is the blessing of the LORD that makes rich, And He adds no sorrow to it.” Be it riches or poverty, there’s always joy and peace if God is glorified by it. God enjoys seeing us truly happy and peaceful, for He’s the God of love.

But the Apostle Paul, Peter, and Even Christ Himself were Not Rich?

We don’t need tons of money to be truly happy and peaceful in life. Paul said that “to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” His goal was to preach the gospel and glorify Christ through the support of the churches and by tent making. God knew everything and in His wisdom made Paul more useful through his poverty.

God, in the same vein, made Job or Abraham so wealthy. But since wealth-building is a formula, one can be rich even without the blessings of God. One proof is when the devil told Christ that the kingdoms of the world belong to him.

The bottom line in Christianity is the real peace and happiness through a relationship with Christ, not through the pleasures that money can buy. Wrote the Apostle Paul in Colossians 2:10: “So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.” (NLT) Though Paul and Peter were not wealthy, they were rich in faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

What If You Really Desire to be Both Rich and Happy?

[Source: OneBibleOneGod. Muslim Scientist Converted to Christianity. YouTube.Com.] As mentioned, you don’t need the Holy Bible if you want to be rich. (Matt. 4:8-9) The devil is the god of this world. (cf. 2 Cor. 4:4) We heard from conspiracy theories that 100% of those families who controlled the world’s money are Luciferians. The number one law of success is hard work in a shrewd manner. Obey the laws of success. Do the things done by those rich people ahead of you. Follow their footsteps; read their biographies. But how to be truly happy and complete? Well, Jesus Christ is “the way, the truth, and the life.” Believe in Jesus, follow Him, know Him, love Him, honor Him, and worship Him as your Lord and Savior from sin.

Be Rich and Happy — and God-honoring!

We had a casual friend, a Chinese Christian business woman, who shared with us her sorrow over the so-called faith of her husband who claimed he was a Christian. When they started their business venture, her husband used to tell their children that Christ helped and blessed them. They were established in their trade, or so her husband claimed—pretending real Christianity before their kids—because of Christ’s grace and mercy. Then the business grew big, and after constructing their 4-storey building, her husband asserted: “Children, it’s because of your Dad…the sweat of your Dad.” It should not be the mindset and heartbeat of the truly happy and wealthy. Observe how do we need to honor God in our possessions and give Jesus Christ the glory and honor He deserves as Owner of our lives:

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