From Hype to Hope: Evaluating Happiness Advice With Scripture and Science

When 104-year-old Elizabeth Sullivan of Texas was asked by CNN in 2015 what the secret to her long life was, she attributed it to drinking three Dr Peppers a day for the past fifty to sixty years.

Meanwhile, in Scotland, “My secret to a long life has been staying away from men,” Jessie Gallan told the Daily Mail on her 109th birthday. “They’re just more trouble than they’re worth.

While we might find these centenarian’s comments humorous and admire their vivaciousness at such an advanced age, not many people would seriously consider drinking three Dr Pepper soft drinks a day or staying away from men a universal, valid action plan for living a happy and healthy life.

These statements illustrate that there is a wide range of advice on how to improve your mental health. Not all of it is accurate, even if it is sincerely believed by people like Elizabeth Sullivan and Jessie Gallan.

A search of Amazon.com for books on happiness returned over sixty thousand results. Searching for books on better mental health had over fifty thousand hits. How can you find the right advice and credible resources for improving your mental health and becoming happier with so many options?

A scripture that suggests a good approach is John 4:24 “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”” (NKJV) The context of this passage is Jesus was speaking to the Samaritan woman at the well. One of the major contentions between the Jews and the Samaritans was where the “right” place to worship was, Gerizim or Jerusalem. Worship should come from the heart, empowered by the Holy Spirit, not just adherence to rituals - spirit. Worship also needs to be grounded in scripture and conform to God’s nature - truth.

As Christians, from a happiness and mental health perspective, we need to make sure the advice and counsel we seek and follow is consistent with scripture and Christian values – spirit. At the same time, we need to make sure that advice and counsel we seek is true and backed up by peer reviewed science and research – truth.

There are a number of reasons why we need to filter through a spiritual lens.

·      The self-help industry is worth billions of dollars. Publishers, influencers, and wellness brands can push solutions because they sell, not necessarily because the advice is effective or moral.

·      People want quick fixes. A click-bait title of “Do these three things daily to guarantee your happiness!” can be appealing. A post spelling out the commitment and work it will take to experience actual progress and growth on happiness and better mental health is less likely to get clicks.

·      Often times the advice spouted is not only contrary to scientific evidence, it is in direct conflict with Christian standards and the Biblical truths, “Do whatever makes you happy”, “Create your own reality”, “Believe in yourself – everything you need is inside of you”, “Look out for number one – you”

On the other side, many well meaning Christians, even some ministers without any training on how God created our minds, can oversimplify things or give incorrect advice. Even worse, some will twist scripture to promote their misunderstood and incorrect view.

·      “That’s just the devil fighting you”, “You don’t need therapy, you just need to pray more,” “Real Christians should always be joyful.” While there is a grain of truth in each of these statements; we do fight spiritual battles, we should pray, there are times of joy in our Christian life, statements like these oversimplify issues and ignore the things we can do to improve our happiness and achieve stronger mental health. Worse than being unhelpful, cherry picked sound bite advice like this can be detrimental to your mental and spiritual health.

Psalms 139:14 says “I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made…” (ESV). God had not only made our physical bodies with a plan and in order, he also created our minds to work in a certain way. Modern medicine has learned how to help heal our bodies from physical ailments because they now understand more about how God made the human body. Doctors and scientists have also began to figure out how God created our minds and how our brain works. Many of these discoveries by psychologists and sociologists have proved the truths of the Bible that lead to better mental health and greater happiness.

Contemporary psychological and sociological research affirms what scripture has always said: love, thankfulness, forgiveness, and purpose bring greater happiness and mental strength. True science is humanity’s attempt to understand God’s creation. When rightly interpreted, scientific findings will affirm Biblical truths. A good way to evaluate whether advice on happiness and mental health is valid is to follow the framework of spirit and truth. Does the advice align with Biblical principles and Christian values, and does it also align with credible, peer reviewed research?

By combining the wisdom of Scripture with evidence-based knowledge, we can confidently pursue mental health and happiness that reflects God’s purpose for our lives. Keep following this blog for more articles that explore Biblical truths backed by science that can help us lead happier, healthier lives.