People's obsession with getting happy...

I spend lots of time at the local Barnes and Noble studying and reading. Over the past few months I have noticed a common theme regarding the books that are gripping the hearts of the people sitting next to and across from me. I also cannot help but notice the HUGE "self-improvement" book section that surrounds me. It alone takes up six bookshelves and is strategically placed around the chairs in order to grab people's attention and make people wonder if they are really happy. Today, just like every other day I am here, I sat across from a lady who looked miserable. I could tell she was going through a lot and was full of pain. She had three books that she was sifting through: "Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy," "You Can Be Happy No Matter What," and "Note to Self: 30 Women on Hardship, Humiliation, Heartbreak, and Overcoming It All." Witnessing people reading these "happy" books did not phase me the first time but I am a little alarmed that every time I come here, someone is reading about how to get happy. However, I should not be shocked...not in this relativistic, individualistic, self-help, "I create my own meaning and purpose," and "God is dead" society we live in. Now I am not saying that everyone should be reading the Christian self-help books, because too often these are just as bad because they counsel from a health and wealth or "prosperity Gospel" worldview: become a Christian and all your dreams will come true--financially, mentally, and physically. I guess it just worries me that there are so many self-help books that people are hoping will guide them to true meaning, purpose, and happiness. So many people are just plain confused and lost. Have they not heard of Jesus Christ and that He alone will fulfill their deepest longings? Are they really thinking that a five step book will get them to true happiness? Do they not realize that true happiness cannot be found within themselves but comes from being in a relationship with Someone else? And what about joy? Is it really happiness that these people are searching for or rather for joy and peace that surpasses all understanding? Oh how I sit in Barnes and Noble and lament...