Righteousness and Happiness: Are they mutually opposed?
I don't know the backgrounds of those who may read this post, but I want to put some background in place for the consideration of this topic. If you were one that grew up in a conservative church environment the idea of righteousness and happiness occupying the same space was so outlandish that no one even asked the question.
In that environment, righteousness involved the embracing of a lifestyle of denial. A righteous person would be one that fasted everything except water on a regular basis. And all that time spent engaged in secular or "carnal" pursuits such as watching television, attending sporting events, going to parties, etc. was time that was better spent in prayer. Therefore, the righteous person only came out of their house for events the occurred at and as a church. (Some day we may actually embrace the idea that church is not a place we go to, but it is when two or more come together as the Body.) The righteous individual was a person that was serious and sober minded at all times so they wouldn't be found spending to much time engaged in joke-telling and laughter. These characteristics came together in such a way that these folks were those that modeled a righteous lifestyle and they were worthy examples of what it meant to be a servant of God. And if one obtained a good testimony as a result of their efforts that was fine. It was fine as long as they never fell from that high and lofty perch because if they did we were taught to see them as utterly lost and in need of a salvation experience once again.
Too many folks have fought over the question of whether one could lose their salvation. That is not the question that we are seeking to answer today. However, I personally believe there will be people in heaven that nobody thought would make it in and there will be others whose absence will be a surprise to all those that knew them.
On the other hand, the word, "happiness", was seen as light and easy and breezy for those that enjoyed its merits. The happy person was seen as nonjudgmental, accepting of others and enjoyable to be around. They laughed often, both at themselves and at others efforts to be humorous. And yes, they too would pray and sometimes even fast as well, but these activities were not seen as the adjectives of their lifestyle. Yes, they loved the Lord and they were followers of Jesus, but if you wanted to know if this was the case you might have to ask them. Their Christianity was not one they would wear on their shoulder.
It may be an oversimplification, but I believe that righteousness could be considered a characteristic of the Old Testament, while happiness or joy is more closely associated with the New Testament. When one considers the situations that the Old Testament addressed it is not hard to see why happiness is not at the forefront. The fall of man, the great flood because of iniquity, 440 years of slavery, 40 years in the wilderness, the fall of Israel, the destruction of the Temple. When you consider a list like this there isn't a whole lot to be happy about.
Within the New Testament we have the crucifixion as a heavy subject, but we also have the first coming of the Messiah, liberty from the Mosaic dietary and sacrificial laws, and the constant message concerning the grace of God being released through Yeshua. The New Testament reintroduces the concepts of hope and freedom. If one is to experience true happiness, both of the these ingredients are vital and necessary. Even within the heavy times of the First Covenant, from Genesis 3 to Malachi we have to the Promise of the Messiah. While we do not always have a trumpeting of this message throughout the First Covenant, nevertheless, this Promise is a consistent one within its pages. In the New Covenant we have the proclamation that liberty, healing, hope, peace, love, joy, and contentment have now come and can be obtained through faith in Yeshua as the Christ.
The First Covenant told us that we could have liberty, healing, peace, etc. through the Law of Moses by keeping its commands. At the same time though the Scriptures tell us that no one is capable of keeping the law through his or her own efforts. The New Covenant foregoes the efforts of men to be righteous by allowing us to take on the righteousness of the Christ. Because we have seen hope fulfilled in the coming of the Messiah the first time, we can have a greater confidence when we read His declaration that He will be coming again. By obtaining the Promise of Messiah we have an even greater assurance of those things we have yet to obtain.
It is assumed that the obtaining of salvation through faith in Him will produce within us a hope and a happiness. That is why 1st Peter 3:15 tells us to, "...sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;" When we have our confidence in Him others will see it and will wonder if they could have this hope; this contentment, or this joy as well.
The answer to the question, "Are righteousness and happiness mutually opposed to each other?" is found in the source of both of these conditions. If we are trying to create and walk in our own righteousness, even when we are doing so in respect to the Lord, we will fail. However, if we, by faith, allow His righteousness to become our righteousness we will experience the happiness that comes from Him as we acknowledge Yeshua as our Savior and our Lord.