5 Myths About Happiness

This article is part of the 5 Myths series. Myth #1: God is unhappy. In an art museum in the beautiful Tuscan city of Siena, there hangs a 500-year-old oil painting that captures nearly everything that is wrong with our view of God. It was painted in 1513 by the Renaissance artist Domenico Beccafumi and entitled the “Trinity Triptych.”1 In the center is a picture of the Trinity at the crucifixion with the Father holding the cross on which Christ is hanging, and the Holy Spirit perched as a dove on top of it. Jesus is dead: head bowed, hands nailed, eyes closed. The Spirit is so small, static, and impersonal that you might initially not even notice him. And the Father is, frankly, terrifying, with an austere countenance and fierce scowl that remind you of Saruman in The Lord of the Rings. If this visual depiction is anything close to the truth about God, then the idea of approaching him to ask for mercy, let alone spending eternity in his presence, is the stuff of nightmares. Fortunately, it is not. In reality, Jesus is alive: head raised, eyes open, hands raised in triumph and prayer. The Spirit is powerful, joyful, and life-giving, just as divine and personal as the Father and the...