For a person seeking to be happy, it has been scientifically proven that the ultimate goal to achieving the most happiness possible in this life is a $400,000 a year salary.
Believer/non-believer, doesn't matter.
So science agrees with you 100%
The biggest indicator of how happy you are is not religion but money.
Not to say IMO, you can't be poor and also happy, but the level of happiness it is possible to experience dramatically increases with the size of your paycheck.
Yes, sadly, many imagine that pursuing riches brings happiness.
So it is true that most people are misled by their imaginings.
It has proven to be factual, what's written here.
(1 Timothy 6:9-10)
9 But those who are determined to be rich fall into temptation and a snare and many senseless and harmful desires that plunge men into destruction and ruin. 10 For the love of money is a root of all sorts of injurious things, and by reaching out for this love some have been led astray from the faith and have stabbed themselves all over with many pains.
w87 10/1 p. 6
Such desire for “that extra dollar” can, in the long run, be harmful, fatally harmful. “To some, money means security. To some it means power. To others it means they’re going to be able to buy love, and to a fourth group it means competition and winning the game,” says psychiatrist Jay Rohrlich, whose clients are mostly financial executives from New York’s Wall Street district.
Commenting on this statement, a report in the magazine Science Digest says: “
The belief that money can produce these things . . . often leads to impotence, insomnia, heart attacks and problems with a spouse or children.” The Bible’s advice is: “Let your manner of life be free of the love of money.”
Science though, does not know when a person is happy, or what happiness really is.
A person can say they are happy, and be one of the most miserable individuals alive.
One of the richest men is going ... well, got divorced.
Here's what he said...
“It was a huge mistake to spend time with him, to give him the credibility,” “I made a mistake.”
Here's a quote from the another article.
It has become clear that Bill Gates had at least one affair during his marriage. He also pursued several other women at Microsoft during his marriage to Melinda. While she was evidently willing to forgive those indiscretions, Bill’s poor decisions regarding Epstein were a step too far.
The Impact of Outside Relationships on a Marriage
Your spouse is supposed to be one of the most important people in your life. If you treat your marriage as your most important relationship and they don’t return the favor, it can hurt. That’s why affairs and family strains are such common roots of divorces.
Now here is a quote from the Bible - the word of God.
(Ecclesiastes 4:9-12)
9 Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their hard work. 10 For if one of them falls, the other can help his partner up. But what will happen to the one who falls with no one to help him up? 11 Moreover, if two lie down together, they will stay warm, but how can just one keep warm? 12 And someone may overpower one alone, but two together can take a stand against him. And a threefold cord cannot quickly be torn apart.
Two together, are strong, but three - in this case, God included - are stronger.
With God in a marriage, it's not easily broken.
Obviously both persons must include this third "strand".
Now really, who's happier? The couple who are faithful because they live by godly standards - which includes putting God first in everything they do, or the godless, who have no cord to keep them faithful to their marriage partner, honest in business practices, etc.?
The answer is obvious.
I'll like to say that
righteousness makes the godly person happy. The Atheistic mind has no idea at all... and to explain that happiness - that inner joy, it would be like speaking a completely new language.
The Atheist may be happy for a moment, when they are enjoying something... like dancing, etc.
The godly person is always joyful, and is happy because of the blessings poured out on them from above - from God.
There is so much that true happiness involves.