emotional movie day

Sarah treated me to a matinee today.
It is amazing the emotions a movie,
a fictional story, can evoke.
This post is fueled by introspection.

Based on my experience:
Happiness is good, seek it
Fear is bad, get educated and conquer it
Anger is bad, take classes so you can manage it
Sadness is bad, yours makes me uncomfortable and mine,
well, I am a Christian so I have no reason to be sad. Ever.
Joy is misunderstood. 

But:
Is happiness good when it tries to ignore or deny or cover up the reality that there are other emotions?
Is anger bad when it fuels us to right wrongs?
Is fear bad when it protects us from danger?
Is sadness bad when it allows us to acknowledge that life can be hard, hurts happen and healing takes time?
Is joy worth investigating?

In my experience the words happiness and joy are often interchanged.
In reality they are two distinct things.
They come from different sources.

Happiness- well, happiness cannot exist where there is:
sadness-they are considered opposites
fear-takes away the ability to enjoy happiness
anger-blinds our eyes to see happiness

In my experience:
Joy- well, joy acknowledges that happiness has it's place in life- along with sadness and fear and anger. 
Joy can co-exist with sadness, it doesn't vanish when sad things happen and accepts the part sadness plays in healing
Joy can co-exist with fear-and keeps fear from becoming distorted and growing to be larger than life.
Joy can co-exist with anger-and keeps me from allowing bitterness and ugliness to take root in my life.

What makes joy distinct from happiness?
Happiness (and fear, and sadness and anger) is an emotion.
Emotions just are.
If we do not control them they can easily control us.
Nowhere in Scripture have I found that God wants me to be happy.
I have, however, read that He wants joy to be part of my life.
Joy is part of the fruit of the Spirit of God.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."
Galatians 5:22-23