I've come to the conclusion that one of the biggest differences between joy and happiness is joy is always present within those who are Christians, whereas happiness is not always present in anyone. Galatians 5:22-23 says "But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, He will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control..." The question is whether we will take advantage of the power the Holy Spirit gives us or whether we will leave the fruit He produces to rot. Paul used the metaphor of fruit for a reason, and I haven't developed this idea in my mind fully, but this thought just struck me. He didn't choose to list these nouns as generic, undefined terms, but instead lists them as fruit. Fresh fruit is delicious (I love cherries, and blueberries especially), but rotten fruit, not so much, and it draws flies. I don't want my fruit to rot, so I had better consume it and let the Holy Spirit work in me!

I also noticed that happiness is not listed as a fruit. I really don't think Paul was all that happy (in human terms) to be imprisoned, but he was joyful about doing God's will. If his being in prison was going to win people for Christ and build up the church, he was all for that. Do we have the same attitude today? In America we're in no danger of going to prison, but we do invite hostility and persecution for sharing our faith. (Hence the banning of the manger scenes in public in some areas.) It's all worth it, though, if people see a difference in how we live.