In Part One, we saw that Americans have so many addictions because people try to find happiness in substances and behaviors that ultimately cannot satisfy them. Conversely, God shows in His Word that people can be happy if they pursue the right things, the things of God and His way. True happiness is attainable through Him.

Dr. Ronnie Floyd, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention (2014-2016), suggests in an opinion piece published by Fox News that attitude plays a crucial role in bringing us closer to or taking us further away from happiness, particularly our level of gratitude. He lists five emotional diseases that eat away at our happiness:

First, ingratitude is a disease that diminishes life. Living with ingratitude is like walking so close to the edge of a cliff that, if we slip off, we may find it impossible to climb back up to solid ground. An ungrateful person suffers from tunnel vision, focusing only on what he perceives to be wrong while ignoring his many blessings.

Second, entitlement creeps into our mindset on the heels of ingratitude. So many people in this nation believe they are entitled. They scream that others must respect their "rights" and give them what they think the government, society, and even the church owe them. Illegals pour across the border and immediately demand to be taken care of. This entitlement mentality is spiritually dangerous because those who have it soon begin to blame God for their miserable lot in life and demand that He give them what He owes them. Does God owe anybody anything?

Third, discontent, a product of the first two, is a palpable, pessimistic mood that sees little or nothing good in life. Discontented people are everywhere these days. They are unhappy with how they look, who they are in relationships with, where they live, where they work, what they drive, and just about everything else. They convince themselves they deserve more and better, so nothing they have pleases them. Nobody likes to be around such people. Dr. Floyd writes, "Discontentedness points backward to one glaring reality: an ungrateful heart." Hebrews 13:5 tells us to "be content with such things as you have." Those who are discontent have left the path of wisdom.

Fourth, criticism seems to be a universal failing. Dr. Floyd writes:

If there is one thing that is not in short supply in America it's critics. America is teeming with self-appointed pundits. Everyone has an opinion on everything, and—guess what?—it's usually negative. People are critical of our nation, the military and our leaders. People are critical of our flag and what it stands for nationally and internationally. People are critical of the Bible and the church.

Do you criticize constantly? Is sarcasm, which is nothing more than backhanded criticism, always near your lips? Being critical of people and leaders of organizations and leaders of governments is nothing to be proud of. When you think you are the only one who is ever right, you are living in deception.

The apostle Peter, speaking of false teachers—critics of the truth, God's ministers, and the church—writes that they are bold, arrogant, self-willed, and not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries (II Peter 2:10). People with critical hearts tend to place themselves in antagonism toward others, and their critical words inflict heavy damage on relationships.

Fifth, cynicism, another negative attitude, has become a badge of honor in these chaotic times. People elevate themselves as more informed, wiser, and enlightened than the masses, so they look at everyone and everything with a jaundiced eye and speak with a demeaning, derogatory mouth. In their skepticism, they see nothing good, praiseworthy, and admirable in anyone or any event. They constantly inspire disbelief and cast suspicion on all they see, creating division and damaging relationships. Cynics are good at sucking hope and joy out of everything.

With all these negative attitudes alive and well in America, perhaps we can understand why our society is in such a sad state. People have a difficult time being happy under such profound negativity. They look for relief from it, turning to addictions as a release, but they can never provide happiness. True happiness cannot be found in the world or the things of the world.

Ironically, the Bible—the source of wisdom that can lead us to happiness—contains few stories of happiness. Through the ages, most people made the same mistakes that lead in the other direction, and the Bible records the stories of some of them as cautionary tales. Happy for a time in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve became discontent with what God had given them, and the tenor of their lives took a sharp turn to the worse. Shortly after, the world became so vile that God destroyed it! Were pre-Flood people happy in their sins?

Thinking he deserved better, Lot chose to live in the fertile Jordan Valley, the vilest city on earth, which God soon destroyed. While Peter records in II Peter 2:8 that the sins of Sodom's people tormented Lot, he decided to tolerate their evils based on the lust of his eyes, like Eve, thinking it would make him happy. Yet all he got from it was misery. Sodom's wicked environment and attitudes dragged everything down, even "righteous Lot."

In I Kings 10:8, after seeing Solomon's Israel, the queen of Sheba says to the king: "Happy are your men and happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom!" But were the people really happy? Just after Solomon's reign ended, the Israelites rebelled over his astronomical taxes and forced-labor policy (see I Kings 12:4). Over the course of his forty-year rule, Solomon's people, despite living in a wealthy nation, became extremely unhappy to the point of revolution and civil war.

Solomon himself believed that "all is vanity" (Ecclesiastes 1:2). His search for happiness in the things of this world ended in futility. Nothing it offered, even when done to the fullest, satisfied him (see Ecclesiastes 3). The world can offer events and enjoyments that cause a kind of fleeting pleasure, but they never truly satisfy or fill human hearts with contentment.

Did Solomon ever find what brings enduring happiness? It may have been at the end of the man's life, but God did reveal to Solomon the key to producing happiness. It is not a matter of physical pleasure but spiritual wisdom: "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man's all" (Ecclesiastes 12:13). His conclusion echoes what his father, David, wrote in Psalm 1:1-3:

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.

The Highest Power of all has indeed chosen us and given us the inalienable right to pursue happiness. He desires to be one with us (see John 17:20-23), but we must put Him first in everything, fear Him, obey His instruction, and give Him thanks for His many blessings. Happiness—blessedness—is one of the great rewards for loving Him with all our heart, soul, and mind (Matthew 22:37).