The concept of happiness is something that has alluded and been contorted for most of the general population of human beings. Many have their own sense of what happiness truly is, but almost everyone achieves a different level of happiness. Some individuals become happier than others, because of two different things. One; the type of happiness the individual is looking for, or two; how the people react to the happiness. In Aquinas's book Summa of the Summa, he tackles the question of what actually makes an individual happy.Aquinas points out that happiness differs from person to person. Meaning that one man can potentially be happier than another man based due to their ability to obtain a relationship with God and how well they are able to enjoy God in His everlasting glory.
One of the characteristics that allows for one individual to obtain a higher happiness than another individual is the type of happiness they are searching for. Aquinas states that “Happiness is the perfect and sufficient good (Ethic.i.7) it brings rest to man’s desire” (Aquinas 392). Therefore; in order for a person to be completely happy all of their desires have to be taken care of completely. Based on the Christian view, the “perfect and sufficient good” would ultimately be God himself in that type of context. God supplies the individual with all the things that they could ever need, making him the ultimate good, which in turn gives an individual the highest form of happiness. However, there are people in the world that unfortunately will not find God and will therefore not allow for these individuals to reach the highest level of happiness. With these two people compared side by side it allows for an individual to see who is happier than the other, because true happiness does not come from what we are able to obtain on earth. It comes from something outside our earthly desires. This is why so many individuals have the wrong impression of what happiness is, because they compare it to the amount of earthly possessions someone possesses instead of looking beyond that and searching for something that will better an individual's soul. God wants individuals to be completely happy, that is why He sent Jesus to cleanse us of our sins so that the human race would be able to obtain Him.
The second characteristic of how one individual can achieve a higher level of happiness than another is based on the enjoyment of the object that makes them happy. Aquinas states that “But as to the attainment of this Good, one man can be happier than another; because the more a man enjoys this Good the happier he is” (Aquinas 393). Meaning that depending on how the individual chooses to enjoy that good, will determine his level of happiness. Let's make God and His kingdom the ultimate level of happiness again. A person who builds a strong relationship with God and appreciates His kingdom fully will be happier than an individual that just obtains God’s gifts and does not continue to build a relationship with Him in order to reach the glory of His kingdom. Even though both of these individuals have achieved the sovereign good that is God, their experiences with it determine their level of happiness with the sovereign good.
Although many individuals experience some level of happiness on earth, the Christians seem to experience the ultimate level of happiness due to one specific thing: God. God provides them with everything that they need not only in their earthly lives, but also in their heavenly life. This in some sense is like comparing apples to oranges, because these are two different types of people search for the same happiness just in different places.Yet even in that ultimate level of happiness, there are still happier individuals than others. The ones that seek God and try to learn and cherish Him more, will be happier than others that just obtain God soley. A true believer seeks to not only please God for the wonders that He has done in their life, but to also go and share the gospel with others. With doing this they are truly enjoying what God has to offer and want others to reach the ultimate level of happiness. Although there will be some people that go against what they are saying, some will find their way to God and will be able to enjoy the kingdom of God and the community that surrounds it.
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