The Monday Memo

John Ortberg says…

When you buy your kid a Happy Meal, you’re not just buying fries, McNuggets, and a toy; you’re buying happiness. Their advertisements have convinced my children they have a little McDonald-shaped vacuum in their souls: “Our hearts are restless till they find their rest in a Happy Meal.”

The problem with the Happy Meal is that the happy wears off, and they need a new fix. No child discovers lasting happiness in just one: “Remember that Happy Meal? What great joy I found there!”

Happy Meals bring happiness only to McDonalds. You ever wonder why Ronald McDonald wears that grin? Twenty billion Happy Meals, that’s why. [Happy Meal Spirituality, Christianity Today, May 1993]

Ortberg finishes this idea by saying, “When you get older, you don’t get any smarter; your happy meals just get more expensive.”

What’s the last Happy Meal you bought for yourself? A car? Some clothes? A house? A spouse? How long did it last? No matter how hard we try, or how much we spend, as long as we live with a happy meal mentality, happiness will elude us.

Ortberg paraphrased a familiar quote by St. Augustine: “Our hearts are restless till they find rest in thee.” Or as David said it, “My soul finds rest in God alone…” (Psalm 62:1)

Take a moment today to think about your next Happy Meal. Instead of pursuing one more thing, one more possession, one more acquisition … instead of striving for bigger numbers or better money or more praise directed your way … spend a few minutes alone with the God who loves you, and let his presence in your life satisfy you.

Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. (Isaiah 55:2)

A 2003 survey by the Society of Human Resources found that that eight out of ten workers wanted to leave their jobs. And according to motivational coach Ed Foreman, more heart attacks happen on Monday between 8:00 and 9:00 a.m. than at any other hour. No doubt every one of us knows what it’s like to wake up thinking, “Not another day. Not another week. Can I somehow get out of it?”

There’s a verse in Ecclesiastes that says, “So I saw that there is nothing better for people than to be happy in their work. That is why we are here!” (Ecclesiastes 3:21)

Here’s a key distinction: Solomon didn’t say, “There is nothing better for people than to have work that makes them happy.” The emphasis is on you being happy in your work, not on your work making you happy.

In my experience, some people get bored with great jobs, others approach the most mundane tasks with passion and enthusiasm. It’s not really about one’s job, it’s about one’s attitude in doing it.

Your job is what it is, and that won’t change. But you can take steps today to change the way you approach your work, steps that empower to find (in Solomon’s words) satisfaction in your toil.