A man once came to God and said: “I’ve heard that You give happiness to people.”
“I do,” God replied.
“Then give some to me.”
“I will,” God said. “But you have to know how to value this gift.”
“I will,” the man promised. And after receiving happiness, he went on his way.
But soon, it seemed to him that other people had better happiness than he did. Envy started to eat at him. He tried to live happily—but couldn’t. It was like he had everything, yet something was always missing. Like he was full, yet still hungry for something more. He struggled and struggled, until his dissatisfaction started to make him sick. So he went back to God.
“Lord,” he said, “why do You give some people great happiness and others only a little?”
“You are wrong in your accusation,” God replied.
“I need much more than I have. And You gave me much less than I want.”
“I gave you not just great happiness—but very great happiness. You simply didn’t appreciate it.”
“How could it be great,” the unhappy man argued, “if I feel miserable?”
“There are people who can find something great in the smallest things,” God said. “And there are people who see only something small—even when they are given something great.”
“Then give me enough so I can finally see my happiness,” the man said.
“I will give you what you truly deserve,” God replied.
The man didn’t understand what God meant. He went home and found everything around him empty—like nothing had ever been there at all.
“Lord!” he cried out. “You didn’t give me anything—you took everything away from me!”
“I only took what never satisfied you,” God answered. “Now you will begin to build a new kind of happiness. And maybe this time, you will be able to see it—if you learn how to value it.”