The Lost Virtue of Happiness

J.P. Moreland and Klaus Issler contrast two views of happiness in their excellent book, “The Lost Virtue of Happiness: Discovering the Disciplines of the Good Life” (J. P. Moreland, Klaus Issler).

The first, contemporary view of happiness defines happiness as pleasurable satisfaction–a feeling heavily dependent on external circumstances, often seeking to fill the self with “calories, romance, consumer goods, and social status.” Satisfaction of desire and the right to do what we want becomes the goal of life.

The second, more classical view of happiness defines it as “a life well-lived, a life of virtue and character, a life that manifest wisdom, kindness, and goodness.” At its core, such a life includes a very deep sense of well-being–for we become more unified persons by living for causes larger than ourselves.

I was captured by the contrast between these two views. First, by how much I’ve opted for the first definition and second, by how much the idea of virtue and well-being resonates with my heart. I’m working hard to bring “resonance of the heart” into alignment with the “working of the will.”

Study for a minute Moreland’s and Issler’s break out of these views in the neighboring table. Do you see the contrast, the difference between both views of happiness?

It seems to me that the contrast between celebrity and hero captures the point. Deep down, I want to be a hero, not a celebrity.

Moreland and Issler believe that “classical happiness” reflects the teachings of Jesus and the New Testament, but lack its more distinctive texture. The New Testament gives Aristotle and Plato–advocates of this classical happiness–a core other than a fully satisfied, heroic self. The Scriptures support “classical happiness” but give it a Christ-centered narrative, a Christomorphic grace. (I love to use these big words.)

In other words, the outcome is not a Greek “hero” of virtue and excellence, but a hero–defined by his or her Christlikeness. Jesus suggests that those who “lose their lives for His sake will find it,” And the life we find is a life which is becoming like Jesus. This life manifests the radical nature of the kingdom of God and the fruit of the Spirit.

Eternal life is not primarily one of living forever in heaven, but having a new kind of life now. Moreland and Issler agree that eternal life finds its success in ways like the classical definition of happiness, but it has Christ at the center and as its end. “It is the life lived the way we were made to function; a life of virtue, character, and well-being lived like and for the Lord Jesus.”