Happiness Dependent on Worth

I was reading this article from MSNBC today. It's about a study they did hooking people up and watching their brain wave / emotional response to sips from five glasses of wine, ranging in price from $5 to $90. Irregardless of the actual taste (and value) of the wine (it could have been $2 a bottle), participants showed the highest pleasure with the bottles they were told were worth $90. From this the researchers determined that our joy and happiness are dependent on what we perceive to be valuable. Negatively, they also note that this can affect our self-worth, since our happiness is then tied to the value of the objects we purchase.

I started thinking about all of this, not in terms of material objects, but in terms of the basic connection between happiness and worth. And I'm not surprised by the study! In fact, it's a great illustration of the reality of sin.

You see, sin deceives us when it comes to issues of value and worth. Sin acts in a way similar to the researchers in this study. It gives us a $2 bottle of wine and tells us that it's worth $90 so that we experience a temporary joy. We find momentary happiness in the $2 bottle, not realizing that we've missed out on on something of real value.

If happiness is dependent on our appreciation of the worth and value of something, then our greatest need in life is to know and recognize what is of supreme worth and value. The greatest treasure of all is God, and we come to know this wonderful, beautiful, glorious God through Jesus. If Jesus is the object (person) of greatest value and worth, then knowing him brings us maximum joy!

That's why sin is so deceptive. In my sin, I am blinded by a warped sense of value. Instead of maximizing my happiness with the person of greatest value, I exchange him for what I perceive to be most valuable--idols of materialism, selfish desires for comfort and praise.

The study illustrates a great biblical truth. Happiness is dependent on the value and worth of an object. Human beings are worshipers, and we will worship whatever we treasure. But it also shows us that our sense of what is valuable is prone to deception. And that's why we need a sure and reliable sense of value--a restoration of what has been lost through sin.