Happiness is not good for business! If everyone is happy with what they already have, would anyone ever want more? If everyone is satisfied with their non-upgraded existence, how will businesses grow? Matt Haig, in his memoir ‘Reasons to Stay Alive’, wrote:
“The world is increasingly designed to depress us. Happiness isn’t very good for the economy. If we were happy with what we had, why would we need more? How do you sell an anti-aging moisturizer? You make someone worry about aging. How do you get people to vote for a political party? You make them worry about immigration. How do you get them to buy insurance? By making them worry about everything. How do you get them to have plastic surgery? By highlighting their physical flaws. How do you get them to watch a TV show? By making them worry about missing out. How do you get them to buy a new smartphone? By making them feel like they are being left behind. To be calm becomes a kind of revolutionary act. To be happy with your own non-upgraded existence. To be comfortable with our messy, human selves would not be good for business.”
A better economy will upgrade our lives, leading us to buy bigger houses and better cars. But that is only one side of the story. That is not the only thing business does. The economy flourishes on one main human character: dissatisfaction! So Matt Haig is right: “The world is increasingly designed to depress us!”!
But there is a more profound truth! Man is not designed to be content with the things he acquires; ‘things’ cannot satisfy his soul. The newness of external things gradually wears off! Contentment—satisfaction of the soul—is an internal matter! What, then, can satisfy the human soul?
Jesus Christ said, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” He was talking to a crowd. They were following Him for a ‘free meal’, because a few hours before, He had miraculously fed a group of about five thousand men. But they did not understand the deeper meaning of this miracle. Here, Christ was not talking about physical hunger and thirst. He, and He alone, can satisfy the human soul and give contentment. He alone can satisfy our hunger and thirst to be made righteous in the sight of God. He is the Bread of Life – the bread that becomes our living nourishment, day by day, sustaining us through His life-giving power.
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