Martin Loyd Jons “Dunyoga nima bo’lgan?” deb so’radi.  “Urush va barcha baxtsizliklar, odamlar o’rtasidagi ixtiloflar va tartibsizliklarning sababi nima? Bu savollarga faqat bitta javob bor - bu gunoh. Boshqa hech narsa emas, faqatgina gunoh.”

Dunyoning azob-uqubatlari va baxtsizliklarida ta’limning, imkoniyat yoki resurslarning yetishmasligi bilan bog’lash odatiy hol. Agar biz ko’proq bilganimizda yoki bizda ko’proq bo’lganida edi, albatta, yaxshiroq bo’lgan bo’lar edi, deyishadi. Yo’q. Bizning asosiy muammomiz bu - gunoh.

Xudosiz doimiy baxtni topish mumkin emas, gunoh esa baxtning manbai bo’la olmaydi.

“Garchi gunoh barcha baxtsizliklarimizning sababi bo’lsada, uni anglash baxtga erishishning dastlabki qadamidir”, deb yozadi Stefan Charnok.

Gunoh to’g’ridan to’g’ri anglash, e’tirof etish va tavba qilish orqali hal qilinishi kerak. Biz faqat kechirim orqali Xudo bilan bir bo’lamiz va shu tariqa baxtga erishamiz.

Muqaddas Xudoning oldida gunohkor ekanini anglamagan har qanday inson eng og’ir ahvolda bo’ladi. Ko’richagi yorilgan odam og’riqni his qilmasa nima bo’ladi? U kasalxonaga borish o’rniga uyda xursand bo’lib kino ko’rishi mumkin. Keyin u vafot etadi.

Gunoh mutloq baxtni o’ldiradi.

Puritan va Kembrij Universiteti professori Vilyam Vitaker (1548–1595) “biz uchun yaratilgan baxtni gunoh qilib yo’qqa chiqaramiz” deydi. Bu Odam Ato va Momo Havo Jannatda qilgan ishning yaqqol tasviri va ko’pchiligimiz ham shunday qilib baxtimizni yo’qotamiz.

Vilyam Beyts: “Gunohning eng zararli ta’siri qalbni Xudodan ajratish, baxtni qayta tiklash esa U bilan birlashishdir”, deydi. Xudo baxtning manbai va gunoh bizni Xudodan ayiradi degan fikrlar gunoh bizni baxtdan mahrum qiladi degan xulosaga olib keladi.

Iblis Xudo va bizning baxtimiz kushandasidir. U Xudodan baxtni tortib ololmasa-da, lazzatlanish orqali qarmoqqa ilintirib, bizga ziyon yetkazishga harakat qiladi. Birinchi marta giyohvand moddani tortib ko’rilishi, spirtli ichimlikning tovushi yoki noqonuniy jinsiy aloqaning lazzati dastlab yaxshi tuyuladi. Biroq keyin xursandchilikning ta’mini beradigan aynan shu narsa bizni haqiqiy va doimiy xursandchilikdan mahrum qiladi. Gunoh - bu xursandchilikning asosiy qotilidir.

Gunoh qilish Xudo bilan munosabatni buzishdir. Shu sababli, baxtning eng katta dushmani gunoh va eng katta do’sti esa kechirim hisoblanadi. Gunohimizni e’tirof etish bizni baxt beruvchi Xudo bilan birlashtiradi.

Agar biz gunoh hech qachon bizning foydamizga xizmat qilmasligiga ishonsak, bu ko'pgina boshqa qiyin qarorlarni qabul qilishda oydinlik beradi, va biz bunda odamlarga to'g'ri ish qilishda yordam berishni yoki ularga baxtli bo'lishga yordam berishni tanlashimiz kerakligini tasavvur qila olamiz.

Masalan, abort qilish begunoh bolaning hayotiga zomin bo’lish, deb ishongan yosh ayol menga dugonasini yaxshi ko’rganligi sababli abort qilish uchun uni shifoxonaga olib borishini aytdi. U: “Agar siz kimnidir yaxshi ko’rsangiz, garchi bunga qarshi bo’lsangiz ham shunday qilasiz”, dedi.

Men undan, “Agar do’stingiz ota-onasini o’ldirishni xohlasa va qo’lida qurol bo’lsa, uni ota-onasining uyiga olib borasizmi?” deb so’radim.

“Yo’q, albatta.”

Abort qildirish qonuniy, katta odam o’ldirish esa qonunga zid. Abortning qonuniy ekanligini hisobga olmasak, u ham qotillikka kiradi-ku?! Bolani o’ldirish hech qachon onaga foyda keltirmaydi - u oxir oqibat baxtdan ko’ra, onaga baxtsizlik keltiradi. Ko’pincha yaxshi ko’rganimiz uchun biz odamlar nohaq bo’lsada, shu noto’g’ri harakatlarni qilishiga yordam beramiz, ularni baxtdan mahrum qilamiz. Bunday “sevgi” bilan o’zimizni tabriklasak bo’ladi, lekin agar bu “sevgimiz” ularning hayotini barbod qilsa, bundan ularga nima foyda?

Bu qoniqtirmagani uchun, gunoh kuchayib boradi.

Giyohvandlikda gunohning hamma turini ko’rish mumkin. Dastlab, u baxsh etadigan baxt baxtsizlikni enggandek bo’ladi.  Lekin oxir-oqibat baxtsizlik oshib, baxt tugab boradi. Bu kamayish qonunining qaytishi deb nomlanadi. Hayot va’da qilinib, o’lim keltiriladi. Har bir narkotik, spirtli ichimlik va pornografiyaga mukkasidan ketgan inson keyingi yuqori daraja oldingisiga qaraganda kamroq qoniqtiradigan bo’lishining tirik isbotidir.

Geroinga tobe bo’lib qolganlar dastlab giyohvand moddani xursand bo’lish uchun qabul qiladi. Es-xushlari joyida bo’lganda geroinning oqibatlari uchun undan va bu og’uga tobe bo’lib qolganlari uchun o’zlaridan nafratlanadilar. Biroq, qisqa muddat rohatlanganligi haqidagi xotiralar bu azob-uqubatlaridan ustun keladi. Bu azobdan qutulish uchun, bu safar davomiy baxt olib keladi deb o’ylab yana o’sha zahri qotilni qabul qilishadi. Lekin bu hech qachon baxt olib kelmaydi.

Yaxshi natija chiqib qolar deb, bir ahmoqona ishni qayta-qayta bajarish aqlsizlik bo’lsa, gunoh nafaqat aqlsizlikka yetaklaydi, balki uning o’zi aqlsizlikdir.

Nimaga ruju qoyganingizdan qat’iy nazar, u pulparastlik bo’ladimi, kokainmi, pornografiya yoki qudrat bo’ladimi - har qanday gunoh: “Bu safar boshqacha bo’ladi”, deb ishontiradi. Biroq, u baxt nomi ostida bizni o’ldirib boradi.

Nopok hayot tarzini tanlash cheksiz baxtsizlikka yetaklaydi.

Tarixan, madaniyatimizning “baxt” savdogarlari deb atalmish moda, kino va musiqa sanoati - asosan erkaklar tomonida boshqarilgan. Bu sohalarda targ’ib qilingan axloqsiz qadriyatlar yosh qizlarni fohishalikka yetaklagan va buni yoqimli ekanligiga ishontirishgan. Qiz tasodifiy jinsiy aloqada bo’ladi va keyinchalik sevadi deb o’ylagan yigiti uni rad etadi, xurmat qilmaydi va undan nafratlanadi. Orzulari yomon tushga aylanadi. Keyingi safar boshqacha bo’lishiga umid qilib, boshqa yigit bilan jinsiy aloqada bo’ladi – bu qayta-qayta u to o’ziga bo’lgan hurmatni yo’qotgunicha davom etadi. 

Bir necha on yillar davomida yolg’onchi “bolangni o’ldir” degan gapni salgina boshqacharoq, qilib “homiladorlikni to’xtatsang” baxtli bo’lasan, deb onalarni ishontirib kelgan. Ko’plab ayollar bilan bu borada gaplashganimda, yillar o’tgan bo’lsa-da abort qilganlari uchun haligacha azob chekishlarini aytishgan. Abortning salbiy jismoniy va psixologik oqibatlari, jumladan depressiyaning yuqori darajasi va o’z joniga qasd qilish kabilar qayd etilgan. Ularga baxt olib keladi deb qilingan abortdan keyin ayollar buning oqibatlarini yengib o’tish uchun abortdan keyingi qo’llab-quvvatlovchi guruhlarga qatnaydilar.

Bizning madaniyatimiz odamlarni pornografiya ko’rishga ham undaydi. Baxtni va’da qilishadi, o’rniga esa uyat, yolg’izlik, qayg’u-alam olib keladi va borgan sari buzuqlik va qorong’ulikka tortib ketaveradi.

Xuddi shu kabi, ba’zilar bir jinsli (gomoseksual) hayot tarzida baxt topaman degan fikrga aldanib qolganlar. Lekin o’z xohishlariga taslim bo’lgach, hayotlari baxtsiz yakun topadi.

“Gey” atamasi ijobiy sanalsada bunda fojeaviy istehzo bor, u tarixda salbiy ma’noda ishlatilgan “sodomit” va neytral jaranglaydigan “gomoseksual” atamasining boshqacha shaklidir. Gey so’zi qanchalik yaxshi jaranglamasin [Ingliz tilida bu “gey” so’zi yillar oldin “baxtli” ma’nosi bor edi. Shu kunlarda boshqa ma’nosi berilgan], bu besoqolbozlar o’rtasidagi joniga qasd qilish bo’yicha dalillar ko’pligini ko’rsatadi:

Besoqolboz va lesbian yoshlar o’rtasida joniga qasd qilish xavfi qarama-qarshi jins vakillari bilan jinsiy aloqa qiladigan yoshlarga qaraganda o’n to’rt marta yuqoriroqdir.

30 va 45% o’z jinsini o’zgartirgan insonlar o’z joniga qasd qilishga uringani haqida xabar beriladi.

Men bu statistika ma’lumotlarni diniy konservativlardan emas, besoqolboz va lesbian muammolariga oid dunyoviy saytdan oldim. Yigirma besh yil oldin jinsiy orientatsiya va ruhiy salomatlik bo’yicha olib borilgan tadqiqotlar taxliliga ko’ra, “besoqolbozlar va ikki jinsga ega bo’lganlar qarama-qarshi jinsga moyilligi bo’lganlarga nisbatan 50% ko’proq tushkunlikdan va giyohvand moddalarni iste’mol qilishdan aziyat chekadi.”

Ko’p yillar davomida eng katta baxtsizlik bu boshqalarning noroziligi sabab kelib chiqqan kamsitilish tufayli degan fikr keng tarqalgan edi. Jamiyat besoqolbozlarning hayot tarzini qabul qila boshlagan bo’lsa-da, baxtsizlik hatto o’sha muhitda ham saqlanib turibdi. Bir jinslilarning nikohi qonuniy bo’lsada, bu uning tabiatini o’zgartirmaydi yoki bu nikohdagi insonlarga yetkaziladigan zararni bartaraf etmaydi.

Shu kabi, gey va lesbian bo’lmagan ko’plab insonlar zinoning baxtli bo’lish haqidagi yolg’on va’dalariga ishonib hayotlarini barbod qilganlar. Men boshqa bilan jinsiy aloqada bo’lgan (zino qilgan) larning ko’pini bilaman va ular haligacha bu qilgan ishlaridan afsusdalar.

Shoh Sulaymon o’zi xohlagan ”unga zavq keltiradigan” (Voiz 2:8) istalgan ayolga erishishi mumkin edi. Lekin o’zining behisob xushtorlari orasida u faqat bo’shliq va baxtsizlikni topdi, xolos.

Puritan Tomas Vinsent shunday degan edi, “Faqat yovuzlarning yovuzi gunohgina erkaklarning baxtiga chang solаdi va uni o’g’irlaydi.”

Biz qayta-qayta iblisning yolg’oniga uchamiz. Lekin Xudo bizni nima baxtli qila olishi haqidagi haqiqatni aytadi. Bizning to’liq baxtimiz biz ishonishni tanlagan Zotning qo’llaridadir.

Lasting Happiness Will Never Be Found in Sin

“What is the matter with the world?” Martyn Lloyd-Jones asked. “Why . . . war and all this unhappiness and turmoil and discord amongst men? . . . There is only one answer to these questions—sin. Nothing else; it is just sin.”

It’s common to blame the world’s suffering and unhappiness on lack of education, opportunity, or resources. If only we knew more or had more, we’d surely be better. No. Our most basic problem is just . . . sin.

Since lasting happiness can't be found apart from God, sin will never be a source of happiness.

Stephen Charnock wrote, “Though the fall be the cause of all our misery, yet [recognizing] it is the first step to all our happiness.”

Sin must be dealt with directly through awareness, confession, and repentance. Only in forgiveness can we have relational oneness with God and, hence, enduring happiness.

Anyone unaware of his or her guilt before a holy God is in the worst possible condition. What if a person with a burst appendix couldn’t feel pain? He might happily stay home and watch a movie rather than go to the hospital. And then he would die.

Sin kills ultimate happiness.

Puritan and Cambridge University professor William Whitaker (1548–1595) spoke of “sinning away that happiness wherein we were created.” This is a striking description of what Adam and Eve did in Paradise and what many of us do—we sin away happiness.

William Bates said, “The most pernicious effect of sin is the separation of the soul from God; and the restoral of us to happiness, is by reunion with him.”These two premises— that God is the source of all happiness and that sin separates us from God—lead to this conclusion: sin separates us from happiness.

Satan is the enemy of God’s happiness and ours. While he can’t rob God of happiness, he specializes in sabotaging ours, catching us on the baited hook of pleasure. The first hit of a drug, the buzz of alcohol, or the thrill of illicit sex seems so good at the time. But then the very thing that brings us a taste of joy robs us of true and abiding joy. Sin is the ultimate killjoy.

To sin is to break relationship with God. Therefore, sin is the biggest enemy of happiness, and forgiveness its greatest friend. Confession reunites us with the God of happiness.

If we believe that sin is never in our best interests, it will clarify many otherwise hard decisions in which we imagine we must choose between helping people do right and helping them be happy.

For instance, a young woman who believed that abortion takes the life of an innocent child nonetheless told me that because she loved her friend, she was going to drive her to the clinic to get an abortion. She said, “That’s what you do when you love someone, even if you disagree.”

I asked, “If your friend wanted to kill her parents and had a shotgun in hand, would you drive her to her parents’ house?”

“Of course not.”

But other than legality, what’s the difference? It’s never in a mother’s best interest to kill her child—it will ultimately take from her far more happiness than it brings. Too often, in the name of love, we assist people in taking wrong actions which, because they are wrong, will rob them of happiness. We may congratulate ourselves for being “loving,” but what good does our love do them if it encourages their self-destruction?

Because it doesn’t satisfy, sin demands increasing intensity.

Addiction provides a picture of all sin patterns. At first, the happiness it causes seems to outweigh the misery. But eventually the periods of misery increase while the periods of happiness fade. This is called the law of diminishing returns. Life is promised; death is delivered. Every drug, alcohol, and pornography addict is living proof that the next high is less satisfying than the last.

Heroin addicts first take the drug to be happy. In moments of clarity, they despise heroin for what it’s doing to them and despise themselves for yielding to it. Yet memories of brief pleasure overpower their prevailing misery. Longing to escape, they take another hit, hoping this time will bring lasting happiness. It never does.

If insanity is doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results, sin not only leads to insanity—it is insanity.

Regardless of your drug of choice—materialism, cocaine, pornography, power—the nature of any sin is saying, “This time will be different.” Yet it just keeps killing us—in the name of happiness.

Unrighteous lifestyle choices lead to deeper unhappiness. 

Historically, our culture’s fashion, film, and music industries—merchants of “happiness”— have been run largely by men. The immoral values promoted by these industries lure young girls into promiscuity, convincing them it’s cool. A girl has casual sex and later feels rejection, loss of respect, and disdain from the boy she believed loved her. The dream turns into a nightmare. But hoping that next time will be different, she has sex with another boy, and another, and another, until her self-respect is completely gone.

For decades, mothers have been promised they can be happy if they “terminate the pregnancy”—the deceiver’s language for “kill your child.” Yet I’ve talked with countless women who, years later, still weep over their abortions. The adverse physical and psychological consequences of abortion are well documented, including higher levels of depression and suicide. Numerous post-abortion support groups exist to help women heal after getting the abortion they were told would bring them happiness.

Our culture also entices people into viewing pornography. The happiness it promises instead delivers shame, loneliness, and devastation and leads to an endless downward spiral of deeper perversion and darkness.

Similarly, some people have bought into the idea that they’ll find happiness in the homosexual lifestyle. But when they surrender to their desires, they typically end up unhappy.

There’s a tragic irony in the positive term gay, which has replaced historically negative terms, such as sodomite, and neutral terms, such as homosexual. No matter how happy gay may sound, these are the facts about the suicide rate among homosexuals:

The risk of suicide among gay and lesbian youth is fourteen times higher than for heterosexual youth.

Between 30 and 45 percent of transgendered people report having attempted suicide.

I didn’t get these statistics from religious conservatives, but from a secular website sympathetic to gay and lesbian issues. [1] A study that analyzed twenty-five earlier studies regarding sexual orientation and mental health showed that “homosexuals and bisexuals are about 50% more likely than their heterosexual counterparts to suffer from depression and abuse drugs.” [2]

For many years, it was widely assumed that this much higher level of unhappiness was due to humiliation over others’ disapproval. Though society has become much more accepting of the homosexual lifestyle, unhappiness persists even among those surrounded by affirmation. Gay marriage may be legal, but that doesn’t change its nature or eliminate the harm to those engaging in it.

Likewise, countless heterosexuals’ lives have been destroyed by believing the false promise of happiness in an affair. I know many people who’ve had affairs and have spent the rest of their lives regretting it.

King Solomon could have had any woman he wanted—“the delight of the sons of man” (Ecclesiastes 2:8). But in his countless mistresses he found only emptiness and unhappiness.

Puritan Thomas Vincent said, “Nothing doth hinder men’s happiness here, nothing can deprive them of happiness in the other world, but this evil of evils, sin.”

We fall for Satan’s lies over and over again. But God tells us the truth about what will make us happy. Our ultimate happiness hinges on whom we choose to believe.

Excerpted from Randy Alcorn’s book Happiness. Also available: Does God Want Us to Be Happy?, which offers a collection of short, easy readings on one of life’s biggest questions: in a world full of brokenness, is happiness a worthy pursuit for Christians? It's perfect for those who would like to consider the central question in Happiness in a shorter form.