Previous page | Main ALOVE site Archive   How to be happy ... : back to issues page    Like you ALOVE has soared up to the highest highs and swooped down to the lowest lows of human experience. The statistics of how many UK residents are on anti-depressants bear testimony to the cracks behind the media mask of society’s happiness. It’s worth remembering Christians are human too. We all experience joy and depression. This month lets find out how to find the former and lose the latter. Modern society teaches us to consume. If we become better consumers we will become happier people and find more peace. This is the mantra modern media repeats and repeats until we sing along. The bible teaches something very different. In reality the more we consume the more we thirst and the more we thirst the more we long for satisfaction. If we believe the consumerist serenade then the way we try and fulfil that renewed thirst is by consuming and so the cycle continues. The true way to be satisfied and at peace is the opposite to consuming: it is to contribute. If we are contributing to our friends, our work, our school, our youth group, our church, our country what we personally best contribute- be that encouragement, vision, thoughtfulness, hope, or love – we find true fulfilment. Here are some counter culture ways to find lasting peace and joy in a current world mindset designed to give a quick buzz but ongoing hunger: • Think deeply about what you best contribute. God did not make a mistake when he knitted you in your mum’s womb. He says so in the psalms and throughout scripture. Your skills and personality delight him. The closer you get to uncovering what you do best (and then get on with doing and contributing it) the more joy you will find. • Make a list of your skills. This is the first step to finding out who God made. Your interests are often your passion and the closer to your passion you get, the more peace you will have. By passion, we don’t mean owning CDs or videogames. We are talking about the things that get you excited- maybe making music or writing reviews of your favourite bands. This is the difference between consuming and contributing. There needs to be a balance. • Point out in your friends what they do best. It might be a bit embarrassing (as you have to make yourself vulnerable and open), but pointing out what you think God has done well in your friends is a wonderful way to bring joy into their lives and then yours by default. • Don’t ignore people around you and what they do well. Encourage them instead. A leading psychologist has said that the best thing you can do to a dog is pet it; the next best thing is to beat it; the absolute worst thing you can do, is ignore it. Humans are the same. Being ignored brings depression as we feel we are unimportant. Our purpose is neglected and our contribution devalued. By noticing the things others do well, we encourage each other to flourish, not wither. Why not write a letter or a note to a friend - saying it to their face is too embarrassing. • Think about your contribution at Church. Society has made us great consumers and that can be especially dangerous when it relates to church. If everyone in your church goes along to see what they can get out of it then your church will die. Conversely, if everyone is contributing what they do well – and being recognised for their contribution – then your Church will flourish. • Spend some time at cell group building each other up. Ironically, when Christians get together they usually spend a lot of their prayer time talking about the negative things in their lives: their failings and disappointments. Try talking about what you think is great about yourselves and each other. Rejoice that you are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139). Listen: God did not make a mistake with you. You have something to contribute- you have an opinion and a mind. Thank God for what he has done and is doing in you and your cell. : back to top : back to prayer page Youthwork - The Partnership ... ALOVE, Youthwork Magazine, Youth For Christ, Spring Harvest and Oasis are working together to equip and resource the Church for effective youth work and ministry.