No one really seems to know where the term happy camper originated. Some have speculated that it may have begun when numerous summer camps sprang up along the eastern seaboard of the United States. As the cities grew, some parents decided that it might be nice to send their kids out of the city for a while every summer. Some kids had a great time—they were the happy campers. Today, we've modified the term to include anyone who is satisfied with life, especially if he or she sees things getting better. But other kids developed homesickness. At some camps they faced unfriendly staff, bland food, flies, gnats, mosquitoes and other unseen terrors of the night. Sending young city kids into that kind of "wilderness" was a kind of cruel and unusual punishment if they weren't mentally prepared for it. So there are happy campers and unhappy campers. A series of misunderstood experiences in the early-to-middle years can spoil any person's outlook on life, producing unhappy campers. Come to think of it, that's part of Satan's strategy, isn't it? In just a few weeks we'll be at the Feast of Tabernacles, or tents. In other words, we're going "camping" with God. So how can we be happy campers at the Feast? One of Satan's strategies is to try to first spoil people by giving them some level of comfort. Then they have to leave their comfort zone to face the wilderness. And, voila! More unhappy campers! And when the bad experiences continue to occur (as they often do), these people often become "victims" in their own minds. That's probably what the ancient Israelites felt after they left Egypt and began 40 years of wandering in the desert. What started out as a happy, joyful exit from slavery bogged down. Most of them became unhappy campers! Moses began to realize the difficulties even before the first week had passed. He began to hear complaints that Pharaoh's chariots were chasing them, and they had nowhere to run! That probably started the unhappy camper experiences. Cain and Abel Consider some examples of happy and unhappy campers from Hebrews 11. "By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain" (Hebrews 11:4). It doesn't seem like Abel was doing anything to purposefully provoke Cain. Abel raised sheep and presented at least one of them as an offering. This might indicate he understood the symbolism of shed blood representing Jesus' later offering of Himself. Cain's act of jealous murder shows that he was not happy. Happiness does not coexist with anger, jealousy and the desire for revenge. And looking beyond these two men, consider the anguish that Eve must have felt when one son was killed and her firstborn was driven into exile. Eve could also be called an unhappy camper. In fact, most of the Bible record is filled with examples of unhappy campers. Abraham and Sarah Hebrews 11:9 says Abraham wandered in tents, not having a piece of property he could call his own. Think about Sarah for a minute. She had to put up with living in a tent for over 70 years. Just imagine the dust, the sand and the cattle droppings scattered around. We do know that Sarah was unhappy because she had not given Abraham a son and heir. We also know that she was subject to jealousy, because of the incident when Hagar became pregnant and acted disrespectfully toward Sarah. Sarah lost her cool because of it. Yet the writer of Hebrews says that Sarah was a person of faith, and Peter holds her up as an example for all women of the Church (1 Peter 3:6). So, even if she might have been an unhappy camper for a while, she is given great honor in God's family. Heresy of Health and Wealth There is a heresy that runs through modern church history, a heresy called the gospel of health and wealth. It essentially claims that everyone is entitled to be a happy camper in this life. It claims that by joining a church, you are guaranteed a better life now. Too many people have looked at the promises of God and taken a step based on greed rather than faith. But Jesus, in His teaching, doesn't make this promise. Instead, He told people that anyone who wanted to follow Him would have a life of trials and challenges to overcome (Matthew 16:24; Acts 14:22). Not everyone accepts the health and wealth gospel. Some go to the other extreme and strive to earn salvation by accepting the victim role in life. They consciously choose to be unhappy campers. God does want His children to enjoy life! But He wants us to do it in the right way. Ecclesiastes is a book that contrasts the reasons and attitudes of the happy and unhappy campers. It is a book that the observant Jews read during the Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast is one opportunity we're given to become happy campers. But even more than just having a good time, God wants us to seek first the Kingdom and His righteousness. That process is a narrow path, which includes developing self-control and exercising self-denial at times. It excludes those things that could make us be unhappy campers. This is what God means when He tells us: "Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth; walk in the ways of your heart, and in the sight of your eyes; but know that for all these God will bring you into judgment" (Ecclesiastes 11:9). As we approach the Feast, let's spend some extra time in prayer, so that our attitudes will be in accordance with those God wants us to have, and that we will be ready to go up to the various Feast sites and rejoice before Him in the right way—the way that looks forward to everyone on earth becoming a happy camper! UN