Originally written by Howard Lee, Sr., in 1977.
The Constitution of the United States of America guarantees to Americans the right to "pursuit of happiness." The Bible informs the Christian how to attain happiness.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gave to us the Beatitudes, which are the original "Happiness is ___" series. One of the most basic characteristics that God wants His children to seek is good basic motivations. "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God" (Matthew 5:8) could very well be written "Happy is he who has absolutely pure motives for all his actions, for thereby he will be able to see God."
Good motives produce good acts. Since fellowship with God is man's reason for being, the closer one comes to a good relationship with God the happier he is. Therefore, to attain happiness in this life one must constantly seek to improve the purity of his innermost thoughts and motives.
Dear God, cleanse me this day of evil thoughts and wrong motives and give me a pure heart that I might walk closer to you. Amen.
