"If you seek righteousness more than happiness you'll get both. If you seek happiness more than righteousness you'll get neither . . .
The person who is happy is always the one who has stopped trying to be happy . . .
The less you're concerned about happiness, and the more you're concerned about God, the happier you get . . .
Aim at heaven you get earth thrown in. Aim at earth you get neither . . .
Happiness is brought about not by controlling your environment but by controlling your allegiances." - Tim Keller commenting on Psalm 1 concerning the search for happiness.
Keller makes the biblical point that happiness is always a byproduct of a pursuit of something else, something fundamental to the character of our Creator. This is why the Bible repeatedly promises blessing to those who strive for purity, holiness, contentment, etc; to those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, not happiness. "Happiness is always and only a byproduct of seeking something else more than happiness." The Bible nowhere says that blessed is the one who seeks blessedness.
