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What Jordan Peterson Gets Wrong About Happiness · Pastor John Piper's answers

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  Speaker 1: We do try to keep things uncontroversial on APJ as
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  Speaker 1: much as possible. We don't wake up looking for a
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  Speaker 1: new controversy to chase after. But from time to time,
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  Speaker 1: a new controversy wakes up and decides to chase after us.
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  Speaker 1: And I guess as an occupational hazard when you talk
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  Speaker 1: so often about how to find happiness, I suppose. And
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  Speaker 1: so today we're diving into a debate that kicked off
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  Speaker 1: around Jordan Peterson, the popular YouTuber and speaker. He put
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  Speaker 1: this message out on X. Still can't get used to
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  Speaker 1: not calling it Twitter, but this particular X message exploded.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, we're talking about millions of views, thirty thousand
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  Speaker 1: likes just like that, and it resonated broadly with a
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  Speaker 1: lot of people. I saw it only because quite a
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  Speaker 1: few of our listeners said, not so fast, Jordan Peterson
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  Speaker 1: and tagged me on it, saying, this is something that
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  Speaker 1: Christian headonis needs to address. And you know what, I think.
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  Speaker 1: I think those listeners are right. So Pastor John, let
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  Speaker 1: me read to you what Peterson wrote and have you
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  Speaker 1: dissect it for us today. Quote, life is suffering the
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  Speaker 1: purpose of life is not to be happy, but to
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  Speaker 1: find something that sustains you in spite of suffering. So
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  Speaker 1: life is suffering. The purpose of life is not to
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  Speaker 1: be happy, but to find something that sustains you in
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  Speaker 1: spite of suffering. Just taking that tweet on his own terms,
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  Speaker 1: no other context, nothing else. What's your first reaction.
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  Speaker 2: Jordan Peterson is negative about happiness as the aim of
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  Speaker 2: life because he defines happiness as fleeting, unpredictable, impulsive, superficial,
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  Speaker 2: rather than as deep, lasting, soul satisfying, rooted in God,
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  Speaker 2: expanding in love. And he's probably right that for most people,
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  Speaker 2: happiness is experienced as fleeting, superficial, unpredictable, impulsive, rather than
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  Speaker 2: as deep and lasting and soul satisfying and rooted in God.
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  Speaker 2: And what he wants to do is rescue people from
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  Speaker 2: the hopelessness of chasing after something that can never provide
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  Speaker 2: any deep satisfaction to the soul, which he calls happiness.
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  Speaker 2: You can't find deep satisfaction in seeking what he calls happiness.
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  Speaker 2: It's so superficial. And his approach is to abandon the
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  Speaker 2: word happiness as a redeemable aim in life and replace
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  Speaker 2: it with the concept of meaningfulness. So he says, quote,
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  Speaker 2: the purpose of life is not to be happy, it's
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  Speaker 2: to find a mode of being that's so meaningful that
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  Speaker 2: the fact that life is suffering is no longer relevant. So,
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  Speaker 2: given his view that happiness is superficial and fleeting and unpredictable,
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  Speaker 2: and given the potentially positive content of the word meaningfulness,
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  Speaker 2: I don't basically disagree with what he's saying. I don't
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  Speaker 2: want people to pursue fleeting, unpredictable, impulsive, superficial emptiness, whether
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  Speaker 2: you call it happiness or anything else. And I want
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  Speaker 2: people to have lives that are profoundly meaningful. So amen, Yes.
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  Speaker 2: But for the last fifty years or so, I've been
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  Speaker 2: pursuing a different strategy than Jordan Peterson in the hope
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  Speaker 2: of rescuing people from the pursuit of fleeting, unpredictable, impulsive, superficial.
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  Speaker 2: And I would add God dishonoring Christ, diminishing Bible, ignoring,
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  Speaker 2: damning happiness. The approach I've been pursuing differs from Peterson's
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  Speaker 2: in at least three ways. First, I don't abandoned the
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  Speaker 2: word happiness as a life goal, because I think it
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  Speaker 2: should be redeemed as something deep and lasting and soul
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  Speaker 2: satisfying and rooted in God and expanding in love because
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  Speaker 2: its historic usage is not merely superficial, but deep and rich,
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  Speaker 2: and its best usage today doesn't have to always signify
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  Speaker 2: such emptiness and futility. Second difference, I think the word
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  Speaker 2: and the concept of meaningfulness is just as empty as
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  Speaker 2: the word happiness because it's undefined. Yes, it can be
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  Speaker 2: filled up with the worst possible horrors in which wicked
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  Speaker 2: people find meaning, and it can be filled up with
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  Speaker 2: beautiful things in which good people find meaning. But the
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  Speaker 2: concept of meaningfulness by itself provides no clear guidance for life.
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  Speaker 2: And the third difference with Peterson, and the most important one.
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  Speaker 2: My strategy for rescuing people from fleeting, superficial, empty happiness
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  Speaker 2: is governed by the authority of the Bible, with the
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  Speaker 2: glory of God at the center. So what I've been
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  Speaker 2: doing for these fifty years is simply trying to understand
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  Speaker 2: and repeat what the Bible teaches about the purpose for
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  Speaker 2: which God created the universe and what that implies about
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  Speaker 2: the purpose of human life. And what I have found
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  Speaker 2: are these five things. One, God created the world to
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  Speaker 2: communicate his glory, so nineteen one Isaiah forty three seven.
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  Speaker 2: That is, he created the universe to display and to
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  Speaker 2: share his greatness and beauty and worth. You might say
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  Speaker 2: that creation is the overflow of God's exuberance in being
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  Speaker 2: God being great and beautiful, valuable, supremely so so much
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  Speaker 2: so that He means to go public with his glory
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  Speaker 2: and communicate it. Second, human beings are created in the
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  Speaker 2: image of God Genesis one twenty seven. We are designed
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  Speaker 2: to reflect and magnify God's glory, his greatness and beauty
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  Speaker 2: and value. That's what images are for, they image. Fourth,
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  Speaker 2: what they are images of We are made to know
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  Speaker 2: God and reflect back to him and to each other
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  Speaker 2: the beauties of God. Third, since nobody does that the
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  Speaker 2: way we should, all human beings have become the enemies
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  Speaker 2: of God Romans five to ten. We don't live to
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  Speaker 2: magnify the worth of God. We live to magnify our own.
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  Speaker 2: But among God's beauties is not only justice, which punishes,
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  Speaker 2: but also mercy. And so he sent Jesus into the world,
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  Speaker 2: his son, to bear the punishment of all those who
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  Speaker 2: would trust him Galatians three thirteen. When that happens, the
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  Speaker 2: passion is reawakened in the human soul to live for
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  Speaker 2: the glory of God. To reflect back to Him into
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  Speaker 2: the world his greatness and beauty and value for Corinthians
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  Speaker 2: six point twenty forse Corinthians ten thirty one. Fourth, I
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  Speaker 2: found in the Bible that being supremely happy in God,
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  Speaker 2: happy in God, supremely satisfied in God, supremely content in
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  Speaker 2: God is essential to glorifying God and showing that he
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  Speaker 2: is supremely valuable and beautiful. And this is true especially
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  Speaker 2: in our suffering, showing that He's valuable, more valuable than
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  Speaker 2: health in our suffering. As we maintain our happiness, our satisfaction,
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  Speaker 2: our contentment, our joy, our delight in God in suffering.
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  Speaker 2: If we can maintain a deep and unshaken happiness in
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  Speaker 2: God through suffering, we make Him look as precious as
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  Speaker 2: he really is. For the pins one twenty to twenty three,
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  Speaker 2: and finally number five, I found in God's word what
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  Speaker 2: you would expect if God is most glorified in us,
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  Speaker 2: when we are most satisfied in Him, especially in our suffering.
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  Speaker 2: Then if we aim to glorify God, we must make
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  Speaker 2: our life goal to be supremely satisfied in God, especially
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  Speaker 2: in our suffering, because, as Petersen says, life is suffering happiness, joy, pleasure.
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  Speaker 2: They're not optional for the Christian. The Bible repeatedly commands
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  Speaker 2: us delight yourself in the Lord. Some thirty seven be
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  Speaker 2: glad in the Lord, some thirty two. Rejoice in the
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  Speaker 2: Lord always Filippians four four. The apostle Paul says, it's
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  Speaker 2: just amazing what he says. In all our afflictions, that is,
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  Speaker 2: in all our suffering, I am overflowing with joy happiness
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  Speaker 2: in God. The end and goal of all things is
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  Speaker 2: the glory of God reflected in the gladness of his people.
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  Speaker 2: In God, as the Psalma says, in your presence, O God,
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  Speaker 2: there is fullness of joy that your right hand are
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  Speaker 2: pleasures forevermore. Enjoying Him is not a byproduct of something greater.
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  Speaker 2: It is the essence of human greatness. That is the
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  Speaker 2: essence of worship.
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  Speaker 1: The essence of worship right here. Being supremely happy in
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  Speaker 1: God is essential to glorifying God and showing that He's
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  Speaker 1: supremely valuable and beautiful. Amen. Very clear dividing line here
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  Speaker 1: between how a lot of the world thinks of happiness
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  Speaker 1: and how we speak of it as Christian hedonists. Thank you,
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  Speaker 1: Pastor John, and thanks for joining us today. If you
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  Speaker 1: have a question to ask Pastor John, find a link
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  Speaker 1: to email us and find our complete episode archive at
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  Speaker 1: askpastor John dot com. Every episode with audio and full
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  Speaker 1: transcripts available for you. Twenty four seven Shame and Guilt.
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  Speaker 1: What is true shame and true guilt and what is
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  Speaker 1: false shame and false guilt. Pastor John will distinguish between
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  Speaker 1: guilt as the objective, moral and legal condition deserving punishment
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  Speaker 1: for sin, and they'll separate that guilt from shame, which
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  Speaker 1: is the painful emotion that comes from the disgrace of sinning.
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  Speaker 1: Very important distinctions coming up next time. Come Tony RANKI
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  Speaker 1: see you on Thursday.