A Warm Welcome

A few years ago, the government launched a plan to discover how happy we are as a nation.

According to the results, the average Briton rates their “life satisfaction” as 7.4 out of 10. But one in five rated anxiety levels at more than five out of 10.

Women tended to have a greater sense than men of life satisfaction and that what they do is worthwhile but also reported higher levels of anxiety. According to the findings, age is a key factor in how people estimate their own wellbeing, with feelings of satisfaction highest among 16- to 19-year-olds and 65- to 69-year-olds and slumping in between.

If you live on the Western Isles, Orkney or Shetland, work as a doctor or a lawyer, and you are married and over 65, in good health and a homeowner then you may be one of the happiest people in Britain. On the other hand, if you happen to be a divorced, middle-aged machine operator living in Essex, you could well be one of the saddest – especially if you’re a man.

When we come to Jesus’ great Sermon on the Mount we discover a completely different slant on happiness. The world’s values on happiness are turned upside down as Jesus rips up the rule book and tells the listening crowds the values that heaven operates by.

Over much of this year we’re going to immerse ourselves in these verses from Matthew 5-7 and discover the rich truths that Jesus shared. The first section of these verses are commonly referred to as The Beatitudes. This comes from the Latin word ‘beatus’ which translates into English as blessed, happy, or fortunate.

If I was to ask you, ‘are you happy?’ I wonder what your answer might be.

We might need to define what happiness is and what makes people happy before we were able to give an accurate answer.

As together we engage in Jesus’ words from the most famous sermon of all, I’m praying that we have our mindset changed and our happiness index increased.

Every blessing

Your pastor

Gordon

Mob: 07882032831

Email kbcpastor67@gmail.com