科學家對「快樂」做了一些研究，這些研究顯示，人們以為能帶來快樂的事物，其實不能令他們快樂。舉例說，他們發現，結婚（或再婚）、生兒育女、遷住氣候較佳的地方、加薪，或一個較強健的體魄，都不能帶來快樂。
那麽，學者們找到甚麽快樂的秘方呢？他們發現到，原來培養一個感恩的心能大大改變一個人。事實上，從事研究的人發現，若能每天把值得感恩的事記下來，就是一個極為沮喪的人，他的心情也會很快好轉。喜樂的人是懂得感恩的人。
快樂的秘方的另一要素，是去幫助正在受苦的人；無論是借著你每天的工作或做義工，幫助別人總能令你快樂。在膳食救濟中心幫忙，探望被困家中的人，教導囚犯，甚至開一張支票，都能產生果效。幫助別人令我們感到快慰，這是一個不容置疑的事實。
當然這些是快樂的秘訣，而聖經早已教導我們要如此行。感恩是基督徒生活的要素，而聖經對信徒們的一個主要教導，是要他們去幫助那些有需要的人。問題是，就如傳道書作者所見到的，大多數人到處尋覓快樂，但總不涉足真正能帶來快樂的地方。
The secret of happiness
I know that there is nothing better . . . Than to be happy and do good while [we] live. Ecclesiastes 3:12
Scientists have studied happiness. Their research has discovered that things people assume will make them happy do not make them happy. For example, they learned that getting married (or re-married), having children, moving to a nicer climate, receiving more income, or having a better body do not produce happiness.
So what recipe for happiness did the scholars find? They discovered that learning to be grateful can trigger a dramatic transformation. In fact, researchers discovered that by keeping a daily gratitude journal, a person who is down in the dumps will start feeling better in a relatively short time. Joyful people are thankful people.
A second ingredient in this recipe for happiness is to help people who are hurting. Whether it’s in your daily work or through volunteering, helping others can make you a happier person. Serving in a soup kitchen, visiting someone who’s homebound, discipling a prisoner—even writing a check can make a difference. The plain truth is that when we help others, it makes us feel good.
Of course, the Bible has been teaching all this for eons. The essence of the Christian life is gratitude, and Scripture’s central call for Christians is to help others in need. The trouble, as the writer of Ecclesiastes learned, is that most folks are looking everywhere for happiness except where it can truly be found.
