Austin Blyer

Professor Smith

College Writing I

05 April 2016

More happiness in third world countries as opposed to wealthy nations

What causes true happiness? How does one feel happy? Is happiness found in the amount

of stuff I have? Is happiness something that can be visibly seen? Why are some of my friends

happier than I am? Can I find lasting happiness in a relationship? If I just get married, then will I

feel contentment? These are all very valid questions that I have either overheard, thought of, or

been asked at one time or another in my life. Before answering them, I think it would be best to

hear the definition of the word happy. Happy is defined as, “characterized by or indicative of

pleasure, contentment, or joy” (“The Definition of Happy”). You were probably expecting me to

go through this paper and identify the answer to each one of these individually with a thorough

explanation as to why. Well, I am going to just give you the answer to these questions right now.

None of these bring you lasting happiness, joy, or contentment in your life. Bummer, right? But I

promise you there is a hope! Because when we look at third world countries, the limited amount

of resources, opportunities, and future outlook for individual personal successes is very seldom,

if any at all. With this in mind, I’ve had discussions with so many friends who have had the

amazing opportunity to go on a missions trip and see this first-hand. And each one of them

would tell you something along the same lines. They would say that the country was extremely

poor; often times you would see people with agonizingly horrific diseases dying in the streets;

the majority of the people were merely skin and bones, lacking all vital nutrients to maintain a
healthy weight; the housing and living conditions were extremely poor, if you were even lucky

enough to get something stable; most of them will live and die doing the same thing every single

day as a means to just get by; the life expectancy is astronomically shorter for them in

comparison to us (wealthy nation inhabitants). All of those were descriptions that I received

about third world countries from their personal experiences. But, the one that stood out like a

sore thumb when elaborated on was the statement, “They are some of the most loving, caring,

and joyful people in the world.” That is one of those statements that makes you really dig deeper

in uncovering the mystery behind that statement. But the statement was made, and we would be

ignorant to neglect the weight and capacity that it carries. When weighing out the human

condition, it would be fair to say that there needs to be something extra in order to fill this

everlasting void that seems to manifest and resonate on the inside of us as human beings. Always

looking for more. Looking for how we can get ahead. And that’s the inevitable dichotomy of the

human condition. We proceed to fill that void with temporary things that are great for a moment

and gone the next. Constantly battling against ourselves in an effort to get more money, get the

bigger house, purchase the faster car, land the perfect job, feel the sense of entitlement and fame,

etc. But it never seems to be enough. Because once we finally reach the “top,” the top doesn’t

seem to be enough. And we have already spent our life working diligently, consistently, and

exhaustingly to achieve a goal in mind and then once we reach it, the glory lasts for only a

second. And we have spent our whole life running tirelessly after something that only lasts a

moment that it becomes all that we know how to do. So we set a new goal and scratch and claw

to attain it. Making it a never-ending cycle of discontentment. And by the time we get to the end

of our lives we realize that we never even enjoyed life. It was something that was endured rather
than enjoyed. All of this is not to downplay the idea of having nice things or working hard.

Because having nice things is great. People with a good work ethic and go to work every day

with a killer instinct is crucial. And I wish everyone in the world could be that way. But it’s

when we make our workplace and the materialistic achievements everything. That is where we

stumble and the cycle of discontentment and unappreciation takes us captive. Now that we have

established ground on the things that cannot bring us lasting joy and happiness, let’s take a look

into the true things of this life that do! In my opinion, we are only going to get the best picture

out of this by looking at the people who seem to illustrate it the best. Let’s take a look at the life

of people in a third world country.

Materialism is something that larger and more wealthy nations seem to struggle heavily

with. As I alluded to in the introductory paragraph, it seems that people living in the poorest of

countries, who should have even stronger of a desire to get things and hoard items, have little to

no desire to see how much they can attain. Could some of this be due to the fact that poorer

nations aren’t exposed to the vast amounts of wealth and riches one may attain? It absolutely

could for some. But for most people, they just have a much better outlook and perspective on the

shortness and limited time of life we have on the earth. The people who don’t have as much get

to see the bigger picture beyond the fragileness of the material items and temporariness of that

which we can physically touch. It goes so much deeper than that. As part of a study done to

gather information and data pertaining to the happiest countries in the world, two people from

very different cultures were interviewed. A 33 year old Singaporean by the name of Richard

Lowe made the complaint, “We keep working and don’t get paid enough” (“Poor Nations are

Happiest”). A woman by the name of Maria Solis of Paraguay stated, “Wealth does not bring
happiness, but only problems. Life is too short, and there is no place for sadness” (“Poor Nations

are Happiest”). None of this is not to say that every single person in wealthier nations has this

outlook. Because there surely are a great number of people that have a positive and genuine

perspective on life like that of this woman from Paraguay and countless others in developing

countries. But, this definitely puts a brighter light on the difference between the attitudes of those

in wealthy and poor nations. The lady in Paraguay was probably struggling just to get food on

the table every night. She most likely had just enough to get by. Yet, she had the greater attitude

and perception on life than the man who was probably making a good deal of money. This idea

then makes you wonder where she most likely sought out her happiness and contentment in her

life? What enabled this woman to live in joy and freedom when all odds seemed to be stacked

against her? How has this woman managed to overcome her circumstances and rise above the

barriers and strongholds the she probably had on her life? Through my short-lived life, thus far, I

have discovered that the premise of life is so much more about the people you’re doing life with

as opposed to what you’re actually doing in life. You can love the place that you work at. You

can love the things that you do for a living. But if you don’t love the people that you’re doing it

with, going to work can become something that is endured rather than enjoyed. In fact, an article

done at the University of Minnesota on relationships stated, “A survey by the National Bureau of

Economic Research of 5,000 people found that doubling your group of friends has the same

effect on your wellbeing as a 50% increase in income” (​Kreitzer, Mary Jo, and Kate Hathaway).

You cannot put a price on genuine relationships. They are richer than any amount of money one

can make. Friends are there through the biggest battles, struggles, trials, tribulations, and

temptations that we face. As a human race, we were never intended to, or created to, do life on
our own. Not only are we completely incapable of living life on our own, we are incapable of

enjoying life on our own. Humans are intricately and beautifully designed for relationships,

whether you believe it or not. When we get to the end of our lives, we cannot hold onto the

things that we did, received, or achieved. We grip hold of the experiences that we shared with the

ones that we love the most. We hold onto the one’s that walked through the valley hand-in-hand

with you. The one’s that rejoiced with you at the mountaintop. The one’s that were there in the

hospital waiting room when you had your first kid. The one’s that you took spontaneous road

trips with to unfamiliar places. The one’s that called off work in order to go and tend to you

because you just broke up with your girlfriend or boyfriend of five years. The one’s that simply

get a smile on their faces just from simply being in your presence and vice versa. The one’s that

pushed you to be a greater man, husband, and father. The one’s that constantly challenged you to

step out of your comfort zone and live for something greater. The one’s that would take a bullet

for you. These are the things that matter most in life. People matter. Relationships matter.

Relationships with people on earth are of utmost importance. They are relevant beyond

our own understanding and comprehension. However, our earthly relationships still only fill a

partial void in our hearts. Even when we finally uncover the mystery that relationships with other

humans is a vitality to the human condition and a partial key to happiness, there is still something

missing. Because even though your friends and companions will always be there, they can only

do so much with the thoughts that race through your mind every time you lay your head on the

pillow at night. They can only do so much to help you cope with the thoughts of insignificance

and inadequacy that you seem to feel every morning you wake up. They can only do so much to

help you deal with that pornography addiction. They can only do so much to help you make it
through the loss of your brother, daughter, husband, grandpa, uncle, best friend, etc. The thing

that makes relationships with human beings harder at times is because we may be walking

through a valley that they’ve never ventured through before. A lack of experience in an area

makes it extremely difficult for someone else to relate on a particular issue. Our disability to

comfort and confide in someone is because of a lack of relatability. It goes deeper than relating

though. When all else fails, what do we turn to? Drugs? Alcohol? Sexual relations? Anything

and everything that you can think of in order to get rid of this emptiness in the depths of your

soul and heart. People in third world countries deal with a lot of this. Those people were born

being told that they would never amount to anything and that there was no hope for their future.

They were raised being told that they were the “scum of the earth” and that they would never

amount to anything of significance or importance. Can you imagine trying to fill that void? Yet,

for some reason, these people are still considered the most joyful people in the world. How?! I’ll

tell you how. They identified the need for a personal and intimate relationship with the One who

created us. The One who is the author and perfecter of our faith. The One who has predestined a

hope and future for us if we simply just put our hope in Him. The One who sent His one and only

Son, Jesus, to become sin and pay the ultimate penalty in order for us to live a life of spacious,

sin-free freedom. I’m talking about that which is unseen, but near and dear to us. Jesus, God in

the flesh, came down to earth in order to pay for our sins and to deal with temptation and trials

just as we do every single day. Jesus gives us someone to relate to no matter what we are dealing

with. Jesus lived a blameless life free of sin in order to fulfill the law that no human could ever

fulfill. And then was crucified in order to defeat death once and for all. Allowing us to come into

a relationship with the God of the universe and giving us a life beyond this one on earth. Shaping
our Eternity without the need for us to do anything except to accept Jesus into our hearts as our

Lord and Savior. God gives us a place to seek refuge in through times of difficulty. God has a

predestined plan of prosperity for us if we choose to follow in His will. When everyone else has

forsaken us, God has not and will never. God loved us long before we could ever love Him. It is

this idea of an unconditional love that seems so farfetch’d but is actually very attainable. This

love that is not based off of physical attraction or emotion, but based off of the love that a Father

has for His Son. It is through the experience of being embraced and caressed in the arms of our

Heavenly Father that we find our true source of joy, contentment, and happiness. You cannot put

a price tag on it and it can not be bought. Because this love was purchased for us the moment

that Jesus breathed his last breath. Now you’re probably wondering how they can still feel this

sense of contentment even though they have little to nothing. How do you appreciate God with

nothing? That alone is the answer. When we empty ourselves of all things that we may desire,

want, or thrive to have, we then in turn allow God to do a work on the inside of us. This isn’t to

say that having material possessions is a bad thing. But it becomes a bad thing when we make it

the foundational thing. When we make them the thing that we are seeking the hardest. People in

poorer nations don’t have as much to chase and therefore are able to focus on the One that is

most important. Fixing their gaze upon the Name above all names. Their reliance for healing and

restoring of health is much different than that of the people in wealthier nations. Wealthier

countries have made many advancements in modern medicine and most have access to it. Poorer

nations don’t have that luxury. And therefore find themselves leaning on, pressing into and

seeking God for the healing power that He possesses. People often times wonder why third world

countries seem to be experiencing more miracles from Christ than in the western civilization.
Steve Stewart stated, “in North America, in fairness, I would say that although the quality of

healing that I see is the same everywhere, the quantity seems higher in the developing world”

(Stewart, Steve). God is the same here as He is in developing nations. But the people of poorer

countries expect God to move on their behalf because that is all that they have established and

fed hope into. And God always prevails.

 Works Cited

Kreitzer, Mary Jo, and Kate Hathaway. "Why Personal Relationships Are Important | Taking

Charge of Your Health & Wellbeing." ​Taking Charge of Your Health & Wellbeing.​

Center

for Spirituality and Healing, 21 Dec. 2015. Web. 06 Apr. 2016.

Stewart, Steve. "Why Are There More Miracle Healings in Third World Countries?" ​Charisma

Magazine.​ N.p., 11 Feb. 2015. Web. 06 Apr. 2016.

"The Definition of Happy." ​Dictionary.com.​ N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2016.

Vasilenkov, Sergei. "Citizens of Poorest Countries Are Happiest in the World." ​PravdaReport.​

N.p., 01 Feb. 2013. Web. 06 Apr. 2016.

Vasilenkov, Sergei. "Poor Nations Are Happiest." ​Atom​. N.p., 12 Jan. 2013. Web. 06 Apr. 2016.