Pleasure lasts just so long as the brain continues to receive neural signals that the mind interprets as pleasurable. Shortly after the signals end, so does the sensation of pleasure. That’s why you can eat a double scoop of triple chocolate ice cream one moment, and crave another double scoop thirty seconds later. Pleasure delights only so long as it lasts. It’s great, but fleeting.

Authentic joy, on the other hand, endures. While it varies in intensity and changes shape and color depending on many factors, true happiness radiates from the core of one’s being. Joy can sustain a person even in the midst of great sorrow. This helps explain why one biblical writer listed only one motivation for how Jesus “endured the cross, scorning its shame”: it was “for the joy set before him” (Heb. 12:2). 

Dr. Joyce Brothers comes close to the biblical idea when she writes, “Happiness comes down to being quietly content most of the time.” We might describe joy as an inner, lasting contentment. This is a joy that endures, despite outside events. It does not disappear with the end of the ice cream cone; rather, it is thankful that ice cream exists at all. Our contentment could awaken others to want this enduring joy, which could lead them to Christ’s love.

This is Luis Palau.