The Key to Happiness
One time I heard somebody say, "If you want happiness for a day, go fishing. If you want happiness for a month, buy a new car. If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune. But if you want happiness for a lifetime, help others."
Let me ask you, who are you helping in your life? Are you encouraging your family? Are you investing your time and energy to make someone else better? Look around you. There are people in your life that are connected to your joy, your peace, your dreams. They hold the key to your promotion. If you'll help them go higher, then you're going to go higher. When you give to others, your gifts will come back to you.
I read a story about a young man who was born with no eyes, totally blind, and he wasn't able to walk. He couldn't fully straighten his arms and legs. His parents were so discouraged. But after a few months, they discovered that the little boy had an incredible gift for music. He actually started to learn to play the piano at nine months old. When he grew up, he not only became a concert pianist, but he was a world-class trumpet player. He went to the University of Louisville, and they invited him to play in the marching band. Of course, he couldn't march. He couldn't walk. He couldn't see. He was in a wheelchair. But that didn't stop him. His father resigned from his daytime job and took an overnight position so he could be there to help his son. The father attended every band practice. He learned all the routines. This father would push his son in his wheelchair in perfect formation, zigging and zagging around the field with the rest of the band. When you watched them, you would have thought the father was the child. He was so happy. He had the biggest smile and was so full of joy just maneuvering that wheelchair.
The father later told that when their child was first born, he and his wife said, "God, why us? What did we do to deserve a child like this?" Now they ask the question in a different light, "God, why us? What did we do to deserve such a great child like this, a child that could bring us so much joy, so much happiness?" They understood what I'm telling you today: that the key to happiness is in helping other people.
Today, I encourage you to look for ways to sow into the lives of others. Don't be afraid to go out of your way to invest in people. Remember, when you reach out to help others, it's as if you are reaching out to God Himself. He sees, He knows, and He will reward you in this life and in eternity.
Let me ask you, who are you helping in your life? Are you encouraging your family? Are you investing your time and energy to make someone else better? Look around you. There are people in your life that are connected to your joy, your peace, your dreams. They hold the key to your promotion. If you'll help them go higher, then you're going to go higher. When you give to others, your gifts will come back to you.
I read a story about a young man who was born with no eyes, totally blind, and he wasn't able to walk. He couldn't fully straighten his arms and legs. His parents were so discouraged. But after a few months, they discovered that the little boy had an incredible gift for music. He actually started to learn to play the piano at nine months old. When he grew up, he not only became a concert pianist, but he was a world-class trumpet player. He went to the University of Louisville, and they invited him to play in the marching band. Of course, he couldn't march. He couldn't walk. He couldn't see. He was in a wheelchair. But that didn't stop him. His father resigned from his daytime job and took an overnight position so he could be there to help his son. The father attended every band practice. He learned all the routines. This father would push his son in his wheelchair in perfect formation, zigging and zagging around the field with the rest of the band. When you watched them, you would have thought the father was the child. He was so happy. He had the biggest smile and was so full of joy just maneuvering that wheelchair.
The father later told that when their child was first born, he and his wife said, "God, why us? What did we do to deserve a child like this?" Now they ask the question in a different light, "God, why us? What did we do to deserve such a great child like this, a child that could bring us so much joy, so much happiness?" They understood what I'm telling you today: that the key to happiness is in helping other people.
Today, I encourage you to look for ways to sow into the lives of others. Don't be afraid to go out of your way to invest in people. Remember, when you reach out to help others, it's as if you are reaching out to God Himself. He sees, He knows, and He will reward you in this life and in eternity.