Happy New Year

"Happy New Year" is the most common greeting we hear these days.  I suppose it is more a seasonal saying than it is a truly thought-out hope for the one to whom we offer the greeting.

What would happiness in a new year look like?  Surely most or all of us would pray for peace in the world and an end to hunger.  We may hope for fulfillment in our relationships and in our work.  Some may yearn for material blessings that are lacking.

Happiness can be elusive if it is based on the circumstances of the moment.  But there is a greater sense of happiness that evolves from one's spirit.  Repeated studies have shown that people who have faith in God are happier than those who don't.  For instance, the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University reports that religious participation brings happiness even in times of economic distress.  The CBS Interactive Business Network reports on a Gallup poll that indicates people with religious involvement are twice as likely to say that they are very happy than those with no religious involvement.  It is easy to find these studies on the Internet--no need to take my word for it.

Every couple I see who intend to marry hears me say that the best gift they can give to one another is the sharing of a faith life.  If they want to wake up 50, 60, even 70 years from the day of their wedding next to the one they love, the best guarantee of that is a faith life they share.  I ask them to google "faith and happiness", "faith and length of marriage", "faith and satisfaction in marriage"--really, anything they can think of.  The research always comes down in favor of those with a significant faith life.

Happy New Year.  How could it be even happier?  If you have a house of worship, you will have one more important resource to which to turn in both good times and bad.  I wish you a happy new year.  I wish you a faith that brings you great, new, and renewed joy!