Is being unhappy a sin?
By Nursefrai06
@Nursefrai06 (2498)
Penrith, Australia
April 16, 2013 2:04am CST
“Because you did not serve God with joy and a happy heart…” — Deuteronomy 28:4
But is being unhappy a sin? How can one be punished for a thing like that? If God punishes people for being unhappy, that would rather seem like kicking a man when he’s down.
they say happiness is a decision. but i dont think i wanted to feel bad. its all chemical sometimes right? and it doesnt seem quite normal that you laugh yourself off and force yourself to be happy when a tragedy comes into your life. thats just sick.
1 person likes this
9 responses
@owlwings (43914)
• Cambridge, England
16 Apr 13
No, of course being unhappy is not a sin. What Deuteronomy means is that serving God should be a joyful and happy thing to do and that you should do it with a song in your heart. It doesn't mean that you won't meet troubles and sadnesses in life which may make you sad but, at the same time, the act of serving God should be the most gladsome and fulfilling thing that you can do and it should be done out of love and not out of a sense of duty.
@Nursefrai06 (2498)
• Penrith, Australia
16 Apr 13
thanks for clearing that up. although it kind of reminds me of the story of Job where in God takes away everything from him by killing all his children but he remains happy and trustful of God and in the end, God gives him his life back and replaces all his children (i think thats messed up though, to think that God would replace children with new ones like theyre goldfishes), but then yeah i guess youre right.
@owlwings (43914)
• Cambridge, England
16 Apr 13
Job was, apparently, something of a 'special case'!
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@mythociate (21435)
• Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
19 Apr 13
A) I hate it when people do that---taking 'not even a complete sentence' out of Scripture, and basing an entire doctrine on it
(And you don't even have the right verse there, coz MY Deuteronomy 28:4 says "Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, & the fruit of thy ground, & the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, & the flocks of thy sheep.")
& 2) Yes. 'Serving G*d without happiness (with your heart longing to serve an Enemy or Yourself)' IS a sin. G*d's in it for your ENTIRE SOUL! ![](/Content/images/emotes/lol.gif)
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@Aja103654 (5646)
• Philippines
17 Apr 13
I know someone who would fool himself by smiling even at inappropriate times. Denying your unhappy is not the way to go. I think someone should accept they are unhappy at least. It may be the first step to conquering unhappiness.
God's language is complex and human language might not always meet the exact meaning God wants to give us. We have to interpret his words with our hearts and not just our mind.
You don't serve God if you don't find a way to be happy. unhappiness is not a sin in itself, but not doing anything about it is.
That's just my opinion though.
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@roshigo58 (4859)
• Pune, India
17 Apr 13
Hi,
I don't know about the verses in the bible because I am Hindu. But being unhappy is not a sin. Everyone in this world tries to become happy. Happiness doesn't mean absence of problems but how we deal it. We should solve our problem by trusting on God without complaining and try to find happiness.
@babyeve (1048)
• Seychelles
17 Apr 13
Being sad is a normal human emotion. If you are sad for a good reason (something happened that would usually cause a normal person sadness), it is normal and not a sin. If someone were to persist in sadness beyond what is normal and was not due to some kind of underlying psychosis (depression), this could be a sin.
@andrewbarclave (485)
• Ireland
17 Apr 13
It really isn't, people can do what they want. This topic just gives me another reason to dislike religion. I know this really isn't an incredible philosophical quote but it's fairly fitting i find, from an evanescence song "i want to stay in love with my sorrow" and it can be very true.
I mean i'm not saying be depressed all the time but sometimes based on what is going on in your life you can feel like that. You want to immerse yourself in your sadness cause it can be easier but also it can help if you deal with your sadness then. It's not a bad to thing to entertain a bit of depression but thats just me. Also depression is a very strong word and everyone has their own variation to what depression is exactly. I personally like to "stay in love" with it cause it helps my writing and I find I write my best when like that. All in all it's a means to the end.
@bestboy19 (5478)
• United States
16 Apr 13
First off, you've got the verse wrong. It's Deuteronomy 28:47, and by only referring to one verse, you give a false notion of what is being said. God was not warning the people about being unhappy but about disobeying His commandments. Also, the Law was the old dispensation. We are now under the new dispensation. We are no longer under the Law because Christ fulfilled the Law. We are now under Grace, the unearned favor of God, because Christ took our sins upon himself. Our sins have been forgiven.
@inopiratum_a_medio12 (877)
•
16 Apr 13
based from my understanding a man whose happy serving shows willingness to serve and a voluntary act there is an intention of helping and sharing unlike when we are serving God with sad emotions it means we are forced to do so since it cause us to be sad and it show being unfortunate to share and help or even appreciation. Being sad is not really a sin but the effect of being sad makes it a sin as it tends to hinder us to be effective and efficient when we are sad
@Hopefull90 (921)
• United States
16 Apr 13
Probably depends on what you are unhappy about. Even Jesus wept.
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