Right to Happiness?

     In his essay Have No Right To Happiness, Lewis talks about a husband who leaves his wife in order to be with another woman who is leaving her husband.  Both couples were clearly not happy with their present partner due to changes they had undergone due to things like childbirth and the effects of war.  After the man's previous wife had committed suicide, he felt bad, but said to Lewis: "But what could I do?  A man has a right to happiness.  I had to take my one chance when it came."
     Lewis goes on to talk about how we as Americans have the "right to pursue happiness by all lawful means."  It is clear that what they are talking about is not just 'happiness' but 'sexual happiness.'  "They meant that sex was to be treated as no other impulse in our nature has ever been treated by civil­ized people."
     I don't agree at all with the man's statement.  Lewis even says something about a lot of happiness is outside of human control.  I myself am a victim of divorce; my father chose to pursue happiness outside his marriage by looking at porn-and after never truly satisfying that need, he soon became addicted.  The addiction grew and grew and progressed into exploration of homosexuality and he is now in a relationship with another man (I share this because I don't currently talk to him and I know he will not read this).  This goes to show that sexual happiness can never be truly met, and if that's true, then maybe 'sex' is not the thing that one is trying to fulfill.  I have never been in a relationship with a guy, but I'd like to think that romance is more than just sex all the time. Personally, I desire so much more in a relationship; deep conversations, praying together, encouragement (even constructive criticism-sometimes), and someone to go on adventures and have fun with.  When I see how my parents and lots of other couples' relationships end up, it terrifies me that there is nobody out there that wants a relationship like I do and are willing to work for it and at it.  Sometimes happiness is a choice.  If you're not happy with your present partner, it doesn't mean go out and find a new one.  For me, marriage happens once.
     As Christians, we are taught in the 10 Commandments that adultery is wrong and the sense of morality within us as humans should also hold us back from jumping from one partner to the next.  Even if the man was going to be happy with this other woman, so many more people were going to be hurt; his wife, her husband, their children (if any), and any close family members and friends that watch the relationship being broken--that hardly makes it worth it.  God also tells us in the Bible to put others before ourselves and clearly, these people are not doing that.  
    We talked in class about how skewed the picture of 'happiness' has become in the world today.  Most people today have been overtaken by the "American Dream" (getting rich, having a huge house, 3 children, a job that they love...etc.) and lost sight of what happiness really is.  Little does one know, happiness can never be permanently achieved here on earth.  Sure there are many things that temporarily make us happy; but when it comes down to it, as Plantinga suggested in his book, there is always something in us that wants more.  
     I find this a very hard thing to do!  What we need to do, is think of our actions and decisions in terms of the far (or possibly near, I guess) future--HEAVEN.  It's hard because none of us really know what it's going to be like, other than amazing :) Our time here on earth is like a dot compared to the time we'll spend in heaven.  Our job as Christians is not to pursue happiness (although we do receive frequent blessings from God-but not always).  We are called to be disciples of Christ.  I was told on a mission trip, during a point when everyone on our team was worn out, that exhaustion is what we should be feeling when we follow Jesus at His pace-it's INTENSE!  However, the reward we shall receive in the end is beyond anything we can imagine and that truly makes it worth the fight. 
Matthew 6:19-20, 33; Proverbs 28:10