We hope that happiness is something we all pursue, and we also hope that others will do the same. However, in itself, it does not give us the strength to face life. Therefore, a life pursuing happiness can deceive us. Secondly, a life pursuing meaning looks impressive and excellent in itself. It is excellent. However, we must always remember the drawbacks of a life pursuing meaning. Jesus congratulates, encourages, supports, and is pleased with the best state where the axis of meaning, value, purpose, and the highest level of happiness harmoniously balance. Some people are in that state. When Jesus is in that state, it is said that he reverses it. How can I put it? It says, Blessed are the poor in spirit. So, when you translate this, what does it become? [MUSIC] I have read such a passage. We want our children to be happy.

Many people say they wish they could live, but I haven't really heard anyone say they wish they could live a meaningful life. I also searched, and it seems there are not many instances where we tell our children to live their lives meaningfully. When meeting friends or acquaintances, we often hear, Let's live happily, or Let's live in harmony. However, it seems rare to actually talk about living meaningfully. What does it mean to live happily? What is happiness, and what does it mean to be happy? There are various definitions of happiness, but I will start by saying that happiness is a feeling of joy without negative emotions, and it involves the continuation or repetition of positive emotions. So, where do we get positive emotions and where do we get negative emotions?

It is when our needs and desires are fulfilled that happiness arises, and if they are not met, negative emotions arise. So, when happiness continues or repeats, it means that our desires and needs are being met. What desires and needs do we have? There will be physical desires and needs like filling hunger, quenching thirst, resolving conflicts, feeling insecure but becoming safe. In these moments, we feel relieved, then feel okay, and positive emotions arise. There are also psychological desires and needs. In relationships, we want to give and receive with someone, want to get closer to certain people. When that happens, we may have a crush on someone, like those people. Then happiness will come, right? If those desires are not met.

If not, it will become a burden on my mind. Also, there are social desires, right? I want to succeed, I want to gain honor, I want to have a lot. However, if those desires accumulate, I will be happy when they are fulfilled, and I will be frustrated if they are not. Also, when you like something, for example, supporting a certain soccer team, when they win, you feel happy, and sometimes, when you see a beautiful blue sky, you can say, Wow, it's so beautiful, I feel happy. Saying, It's nice to live when you see the evening sunset, can make you feel happy. On the other hand, what about the meaning of life? What is the meaning of life? When we talk about living like this has meaning, what does it mean? In fact, discussing the meaning of life is a very complex philosophical and academic subject. I have read quite a few, and there are various thoughts on the meaning of life.

I think it would be okay to summarize by saying that when we say life has meaning, we are talking about a state where values worth continuing or must be continued are being realized. When we talk about life having meaning based on the above passage, it means expressing the emotions experienced through it. We can say that life has meaning when we talk about such a meaning. The value worth continuing in life should be one that is meaningful not only to oneself but also socially or universally, supported or agreed upon significantly by others in our society. Something that is meaningful only to oneself may not be considered meaningful to others when we say life is meaningful. For example, would it be valuable to grow a matchstick to a great height to receive social support and universal agreement? It may be a bit difficult to agree. You may get into the Guinness Book of World Records, but... So, the value should be not only personal but also social and universal.

Being able to gain support and agreement means enlightenment. Secondly, it means having direction through clear, conscious, intentional, voluntary intentions, actions, and pursuit. Without my awareness, it happened. The truth is that there is meaning in life. When I have a clear direction, act with intention and purpose voluntarily, and pursue direction, that is when life has meaning. This is the second condition. This meaning of life, in my view, is largely about realizing values. I see two areas. One is the domain of labor. All our creative actions that produce value can be called labor. Secondly, it refers to the area of relationships in living together, which I can call love. So, there are two major areas where value is created.

Labor and love can be seen as two different areas that produce the value of relationships. Then, what kind of relationship does Korea have with life? Is there a relationship in this contrast where pursuing happiness leads to the loss of meaning, or do they overlap in certain aspects like an intersection? Or is happiness a subset under the umbrella of meaning, or vice versa? Is happiness a subset under the umbrella of meaning, or vice versa? Is there no correlation between the two? There are various shapes of relationships that can be considered, and there is an interesting study on this topic by a scholar named Roy Baumeister, a psychology professor at the University of Florida. He conducted a study comparing happiness and the meaning of life, dividing it into nine areas. I will briefly explain my interpretation based on two of these nine areas.

The first one is related to obtaining what you want and need, the fulfillment of desires and needs. Earlier, I mentioned that happiness comes from the fulfillment of desires and needs. When desires and needs are fulfilled, happiness is given. When you achieve what you want in life, you become happy, and when you are healthy, you can obtain even greater happiness. However, the meaning of life is that even when there is no happiness, it is possible to continue pursuing it persistently. So, if the demands are not met, happiness fades away. However, the area of ​​meaning can continue even when desires and needs are not fulfilled, and there is even a side that is more strengthened when desires and needs are partially frustrated. Now, here's the amazing thing: when there are obstacles that appear more as you move towards a certain goal and value, it strengthens the direction.

Instead, it is the special appearance shown by people who pursue the meaning of life. I think in this part, there can be a conflict between happiness and meaning. In the field of seeking the meaning of life, even if they are not happy, journalists who want to report the truth despite the economic threats that power can exert, can realize the meaning of life by pursuing the truth. By conforming to high authority and trying not to cause conflicts, one may surrender to such things and then think, I can't help it, but I protected my personal safety, earned money for my family, and then there may be a small earthquake. In this way, there may be some areas where compromise is possible. So, when looking at this part, sometimes happiness and meaning can be in conflict. This leads to thoughts such as when Confucius talked about the categories of filial piety.

Following one's desires, without straying from any rules or conventions, this story talks about the pursuit of meaning and happiness in life. It seems like a great state to be in. The second happiness and the meaning of life differ in terms of the aspect of time. Happiness focuses on the present, without dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. By solely concentrating on one's current situation, happiness can increase, and emotions can be heightened when thinking about the present. The most extreme form of this is what is known as YOLO, meaning You only live once. While happiness can come from living in the moment, those who seek the meaning of life do not only think about the present. They consider the past, present, and future. If we were to divide time into sections, it is when these three times intersect that meaning arises.

When something is born, it needs a context to be born with. Happiness now connects the current day, but meaning connects the world of alcohol. Because it needs to have a context, I can give a very simple example. Let's say there is a portrait made of stained glass of a famous actor, in a memorial hall dedicated to that star. At 6 p.m., the museum closed, and three minutes later, while cleaning, a few seconds of glass fell off the stand. A black glass shard fell to the floor, and thinking it was trash, they cleaned it up. Let's think about it. The glass shard that fell on the floor is dangerous, but when it is separated from the context, it's just a piece of trash. However, if we place it in the context of the stylish and beautifully crafted portrait of that star, specifically in the right eye of the portrait, the location within the context holds a very important meaning.

It happens, so the person who shapes the meaning of life in the past, present, and future context feels happiness when organizing time. There is a slight difference between a person who feels happiness and a person who constructs meaning like this. Third, a specific conflict arises in happiness and meaning depending on social relationships. Oh, a person who desires happiness and a person who desires the meaning of life have a slight difference. There are many detailed stories, but to put it briefly, happiness occurs when someone does something good for me, while the meaning of life occurs when I do something good for that person. It's clear, right? So, happiness occurs when someone loves me, and meaning occurs when I am next to someone who needs love. If someone feels happiness when being next to someone who needs love, then that person achieves both the meaning of life and happiness at the same time. However, there can also be conflicts between the two.

There may be someone who needs my love, but always causes me pain. Sometimes, there are people who need my love and also give me pain. Parents with high IQs will understand me well. Raising a child is fundamentally about facing the aspects of life. However, it's really tough. So, sometimes when a child smiles at you, you feel incredibly happy, but when a child makes things a bit difficult, it may not last for five days, but it's really tough. Therefore, when forming relationships, happiness and meaning can sometimes conflict with each other, sometimes match, and sometimes exist independently. Fourthly, creating meaning and happiness differently can be said to be experiencing pain and adversity. When bad things happen, happiness naturally decreases, but meaning does not.

If desires are not satisfied, happiness decreases. What is a very important characteristic of those who pursue meaning is that when faced with adversity, they tend to consider that adversity as part of their lives. When we design sermons, we often include phrases like Even in pain, God is with us. This is exactly what it means. People who pursue meaning accept pain as part of their lives, while those who pursue happiness find it difficult to face pain. For example, a scientist who is determined to make a great scientific discovery does not give up the experiment just because it failed several times, thinking that even after repeated failures, if I can succeed in my research, it will be worth it. This can be considered an important difference in guiding meaning and happiness. Finally, self and personal.

It's about identity, but the behaviors of expressing oneself in contemplation are closely related to the realm of meaning. Artists find fulfillment in life through expressing their artistic ideals in the form of art, music, or cultural activities. Meaning gives a sense of fulfillment. On the contrary, it is often said that happiness is not significantly related to this. If happiness is a state of self-fulfillment, meaning is closer to self-realization. I have defined happiness and meaning and examined the relationship between the two. Pursuing happiness is not inherently bad because we naturally seek ways to fulfill our desires and avoid unhappiness. Who would want to be unhappy, right? In relationships, we can wish for the happiness of others and have expectations. However, we can take the lead in our own happiness.

It is clear that we need to be careful as we pursue our goals. First, if we exclude our own selfishness and jealousy, we run the risk of being immersed in our own pursuits. Other people can become tools for self-fulfillment. Second, what we call happiness can easily change. Think about traveling. You feel excited, happy, and joyful, but if you forget your passport at the airport, your mood drops instantly. You start questioning why you even started this trip. Your self-confidence wavers, and if someone keeps nagging about the situation, you might want to cancel everything. Happiness can change easily, especially when faced with adversity. However, when you plan to travel with someone, and that person is adventurous and positive...

People regret the amount of wasted time. Because in pursuing happiness, they must face adversity. The second problem that people seeking happiness can encounter is that happiness easily fades away, and relying on this fleeting happiness can lead to self-depletion. The third happiness issue, as mentioned earlier, is the lack of ability to deal with the dark side of adversity and hardship in life. However, what is important is that our lives are generally boring or painful, but life is about facing challenges that come our way. Where are those who do not? They avoid difficult tasks and live. Pursuing happiness without the ability to face it deprives us of the opportunity to cultivate the ability to confront it. Pursuing happiness itself lacks the ability to respond to it. Therefore, if we live for happiness, our lives will fall apart.

Because once we eat something very delicious, the next day or the day after, we crave that taste. We keep craving it. However, we always know the size of the pleasure we felt from the food we had before. So, compared to my past, I feel happier. I keep pushing myself harder than people from other countries. Sometimes, when I compare the delicious things I ate in the past to what I am eating now, it can make me feel miserable. It's not like I am eating something strange, but when someone else struggles and watches me enjoying delicious food effortlessly, I feel even more miserable. While we hope that everyone pursues happiness, it alone doesn't give us the strength to face life. Therefore, a life pursuing happiness can deceive us. It can deceive us. Secondly, a life pursuing meaning looks great and admirable in itself.

It's great, but we must always remember the downside of pursuing a life with such meaning. The first downside is that it can impose sacrifice and dedication on oneself and those around us. Why don't you sacrifice for such noble purposes and values? Why don't you dedicate yourself? We can easily ignore unwanted sacrifices and dedications. The second problem is that by pursuing such great and noble values, if we ourselves impose sacrifice and dedication on others, the important aspects of daily life can become trivial. However, the everyday life around us is very important. Cooking someone's meal is an important thing. Comforting a crying child, changing a baby's diaper, how important are these things? However, the importance of these small aspects of life...

Is it possible to handle being sacrificed by what appears to be gigantic? Third, there may be a problem of looking down on, ridiculing, and disparaging people who have different opinions and thoughts while making oneself think that they are participating in such grand and great things. There may be issues of extreme actions and extreme contempt. Fourth, there may be a problem of overestimating oneself, thinking, Am I the only one participating in such a holy task, while others know nothing, cannot speak as well as I do, and do not participate in this important task? Therefore, one may mistakenly think that they have become a very impressive person and that others can simply be ignored. In this way, the ego expands. Those who especially believe they are doing important work with faith should pay close attention to the words I just shared.

At times like this, what can we say about the wine without being caught up in the feeling of happiness but pursuing the meaning of life in order not to be distorted in situations? How can we healthily find the meaning of life and happiness in faith? Thinking about this issue, the words of the Bible that came to my mind were from the Book of Matthew. It is a well-known 8 Beatitudes or 9 Beatitudes. Depending on how you count, it can be counted as 8 blessings or 9 blessings. Here, I will call it the Blessings of Both Arms. This passage demonstrates a state where the meaning of life and happiness harmoniously reach their peak. We cannot look at all of them as there are quite a few, so today I will only talk about the four blessings. Let me read what I have translated once. Also, I will talk about the Sermon on the Mount by Matthew for a moment.

Because we are not Christians, we looked at it like this. Let's see. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. This can be translated as 마카리오스 (Makarios) which was translated as 복국 (Bokguk) here. Makarios means they must feel good, be happy, or be in a good situation, that person is truly great, excellent, wonderful, and amazing. It is truly admirable. It's amazing. This kind of admiration and congratulations is a language of awe. It's joyful, supportive, and I support that value right away. I support what you did emotionally. You did a great job. It's excellent. How happy you must be for doing such a thing. This is the meaning of the word Makarios. So, when you see this, it's important when forming the meaning. I mentioned earlier about making a judgment together. The word that Yom Kippur tells you to smile is just...

It's not about talking about emotions, but about appreciating and celebrating certain values. So, on the front line, there are values and purposes. Secondly, it includes self-efficacy, which has a significant impact on happiness. The joy that comes from confirming one's own value, such as realizing through a certain process that my wife did this or I have established understanding, is the limit of happiness that Marcus Aurelius talks about when he says to smile. Therefore, I think this represents the highest state of happiness that harmoniously balances the axis of meaning, value, and purpose. Jesus celebrates, encourages, supports, and joyfully thinks that there are people in such a state, showing the best state where happiness and joy are balanced harmoniously. Jesus may have said, I support and congratulate those who are in such a state with great admiration.

There is a reversal. If you don't say how, it says that the poor in spirit are you. So if you translate this, it means that you who are poor in spirit. It's what Jesus says. It's really great and wonderful. I support you, and I support you, and you've done a great job. Jesus is speaking on the wall. What does it mean to be poor in spirit? Saying that one is poor in spirit is a different expression from the happiness we commonly use. Happiness comes when certain desires and longings are fulfilled, but being poor means those desires and longings are not fulfilled. It's a state of not being satisfied. There are various ways to understand this, but this is what I think and many scholars refer to it as a state called anawim in the Old Testament. It means a state of being poor or powerless, not in a materialistic sense.

However, even as they describe material poverty, it means people who are faithful before God, who do not look to anyone but God, even if powerful people oppress or harass them, relying on God alone, trusting in Him, and hoping for His help. So, I saw a translation like this, which means people who earnestly seek God. However, being poor in spirit ultimately means desiring a deep relationship with God, looking to Him, and wanting to adjust the direction of life towards Him. If we see such people in reality, we can see that attitude. If we see such people, we also want to walk in the same way as Jesus, showing the appearance of the Lord, who is truly skilled in utilizing the field He has chosen.

Let's support and cheer together like this. Jesus said that even though we can see the current state, He will give the kingdom of heaven to those people. What kind of blessing is given? They already enjoy happiness and will continue to do so, as the kingdom of heaven belongs to them. When we say the kingdom of heaven belongs to them, it means that they participate as important members in the kingdom of heaven. As members of the kingdom of heaven, they enjoy the rights, responsibilities, and joy of participating in God's reign simultaneously. The second improvement is like this. People who are mourning will be comforted. How can a person who is sad be in the highest state of happiness? It doesn't make sense. In fact, it presents a contradiction, and furthermore, what is even more nonsensical is that they will receive comfort. But as I mentioned earlier, it is called Macarios.

Words don't talk about being happy in the future because of some hope. It's about saying that the current state is the best state right now. So, when sad people say that there is the best state, it's not because there is meaning and value in receiving comfort as a reward later. It's about the current state. So, to understand what this means, we need to know what kind of people the sad people are. Even saying sadness can send two Old Testament passages, Ezekiel 6:9 and Isaiah 61:1. Specifically, looking at Ezekiel 6:9 first, it says, And the Lord said to him, 'Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.'

Draw a mark on the forehead, look at the sad people because of disgusting things, and say, Let's see two knowledgeable people who are sad. When you say this, the sadness of selling alcohol is this sadness. Calling something disgusting is a translation of the Hebrew word hip uretho, which means something that is commonly revolting or sacred. It can also mean something that is not acceptable to God personally or ethically corrupted to the point where it is unacceptable to both people and God. When we see someone doing something very wrong, we feel disgusted by it. That disgusting thing, which means that, is what makes people sad. In the context of Ezekiel 2, before the fall of the Babylonian Empire, when the Jews saw all the abominations that they were doing, they found it disgusting. They should have been divided between God's people and those who are not God's people.

We should live as God's people, but instead of living as God's people, we live as if we are determined to be different. When the prophet Ezekiel sees the nine people who act as if they have been determined, he feels intense nausea. He feels sad and experiments because of that. What is the content of sadness? They are sad because they have lost God. Also, they are sad because they might lose God. In other words, they are sad about losing God, about living a meaningless and purposeless life, about living unclear and uncertain lives, and about becoming people who disappear like smoke. They are sad about losing God, about God abandoning them, about being exposed to a miserable life, and about living a truly miserable life. Deep in their hearts, they are sad, crying, and communicating with that person Jesus, who sees such people and feels sad for them.

Declare that there is comfort. If you look at Isaiah 61:1-3, you can see the sorrow of those people coming out again. They were declared by me in the year of the Lord's favor and the vengeance of our God, and comforted all who mourn. In verse 3, it says, To bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. This verse serves as the background for saying there is comfort for those who mourn in Zion. What does it mean for God to comfort them? In Matthew 5:4, it says, Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. The comfort mentioned here is the same word in Greek as in the Hebrew translation of the Old Testament, in the Septuagint, where the word is the same. What will God comfort them with?

Are you doing this because of such a disgusting thing that everyone was scattered and all fell down, and they were told to restore those same people to recover the promise of recovery and firmly believe in the promise of recovery, selling alcohol enough today. The person there prefers the meaning and deep state of blessing. If you look at the third gentle people, they will inherit their land. Who are these gentle people, and in Matthew, in the 11th chapter, verse 29, in the 5th verse of chapter 11, the word gentle comes out, which is also a word applied to Jesus Christ. In the ancient Greek era, an important virtue that refers to rulers is gentleness. Therefore, the phrase gentle people does not mean those who rule, but what are the characteristics of rulers? Gentleness. Rulers oppress, dominate, and seek their own gain.

If someone violates the rights of others and those who find it easy, Jesus said that they are gentle people who can give up reading aloud as rulers of the kingdom of God, that is, as people who have self-control. When Jesus says that they have a state of humility and that they represent humility, he says that they have a state of humility and happiness in the true sense of blessed people. In verse 6, we will see hungry and thirsty people for justice. They will be satisfied. This is declared as Jeonghee Lee, Titus 2. It corresponds to Hebrew. It seems like an action of God's righteousness. God's righteous action is to correct distorted reality.

When I read these words, Satan, who tests after fasting for 40 days in the wilderness in Matthew 4, appears and says to Jesus, If you are the Son of God, turn these stones into bread. You must have been really desperate. At that time, Jesus replied, Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. He said this, pointing out the earnest desire for the words coming from God's mouth. The person who has that earnest desire, that earnestness, is the one who is telling us about the highest meaning and happiness of life simultaneously. They will be satisfied. It's a funny word, satisfied. Think about the image of being satisfied in your head, or our chubby house cat that is all plump and fluffy.

Think about a dog once. Oh, why did this channel get so fat? When it asks why it gained weight, then it will lose that weight. God will fervently lead thirsty people for justice by God's righteousness to righteousness. They will flourish like green plants in the justice of God and will not be in hell. Truly, that person will be filled with meaning and happiness. Faith integrates meaning and happiness, presenting them as an 8-fold or 9-fold blessing line. Through our faith, meaning and happiness are integrated. In our faith, the clear purpose and value of our lives are revealed, pursuing these values with God and fellow Christians, we reach a state of satisfaction and joy, feeling the effectiveness and joy firmly together. Fulfillment goes beyond the difficulties of reality, and we experience a deep sense of pleasure beyond superficial pleasure. So, in church...

In the faith, living our faith life with brothers and sisters holds deep meaning, values, and goals. At the same time, meeting colleagues is truly delightful, even meeting Jesus towards us is wonderful and beautiful. I support it, I agree, well done, excellent. Such meaning and happiness can be achieved in a harmonious balance state. He teaches us to reach that state for us.

삶의 의미, 행복감에 속지 않고 '좋은 삶'을 사는 법 ㅣ김학철 교수ㅣ잘잘법 118회

'잘 믿고 잘 사는 법'은 CBS가 만드는 삶과 신앙에 관한 이야기입니다. 
사소한 것에서부터 진지한 의미까지, 
신앙에 관한 궁금증을 기독교를 대표하는 목사, 신학자에게 대신 물어봐 드립니다.


하나님의 뜻을 완벽하게 아는 것은 불가능할지도 모릅니다.
그러나 우리가 아는 하나님을 서로 나눌 때, 
하나님에 대한 우리의 지식은 점점 온전해 지리라 믿습니다.

'잘 믿고 잘 사는 법'과 함께 온전한 신앙과 삶을 함께 찾아보아요!


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삶의 의미, 행복감에 속지 않고 '좋은 삶'을 사는 법 ㅣ김학철 교수ㅣ잘잘법 118회

삶의 의미, 행복감에 속지 않고 '좋은 삶'을 사는 법 ㅣ김학철 교수ㅣ잘잘법 118회

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