All Men Seek Happiness

I have often commented that 'Desiring God' has been the most influential book, except the Bible, that I have ever read. Its author, John Piper, celebrates Blaise Pascal's life today on the Desiring God blog with a quote from Pascal that was key to Piper's understanding.

"All men seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end. The cause of some going to war, and of others avoiding it, is the same desire in both, attended with different views. This is the motive of every action of every man, even of those who hang themselves."

These words of Pascal's resonated with Piper and they resonate with me. Piper's reaction was also mine:

"I suspected this was true. But I always feared that it was sin. That wanting to be happy was a moral defect. That self-denial meant renouncing joy, . . . "

'Desiring God' goes on to explain that we should seek our happiness, provided we seek it in the only place (person!) in which lasting happiness can be found.