By Daniel H. King, Sr.

The Bible is a book that has the potential to make our lives more pleasant. This is so because its author is our maker. It stands to reason, therefore, that our manufacturer would know what it takes to make us function both properly and efficiently. It is a marvel to those of us who believe the biblical literature is both divinely inspired and heaven sent when we see atheists and agnostics, and even some strident “Christian” apologists for liberalism, attack the value of Sacred Writ and, more often than not, turn around and live their lives in licentiousness, chaos and misery. It is not surprising, but it is a wonder.

How sad it is that magnificent advice is available to them on every page of the Book of Books, but they refuse to listen to any of it. The dedicated Christian, on the other hand, pores over its pages with loving care, and then dutifully follows its counsel, and subsequently (and not all that surprisingly) enjoys a life of relative peace and tranquility. Troubles may come, but the antidotes for all such trials and tribulations are also readily accessible from the same source. The Bible provides the answers to all of our earthly problems.

In our day we are surrounded in society by a great many unpleasant people. Many of them are obnoxious because they are unhappy. And they are unhappy because they have either listened to bad advice about how to conduct their lives, or else because they have refused to heed the good advice that they once contemplated but in the end rejected. Their lives could be better, but they will not be because they “have rebelled against the words of God, and spurned the counsel of the Most High” (Prov. 107:11). We deem it advisable to listen and apply salutary counsel when it is given, and the Word of God provides it in abundance.

One area of life that affects people in a major way has to do with their outlook. Now, that is an interesting term, that word “outlook,” for it depicts one looking out from the window of his own soul and describes how he sees the world. It is either seen as altogether evil, cruel and heartless, dark and foreboding, or else as a generally delightful place filled with mostly good people. There are a few rascals, and even a few utter deviants, but most folks are nice. We can view the world from either angle. But whichever way we see it, that will change our perspective on life enormously in a variety of ways.

Frankly, in the present environment it is mostly those who have been touched by the Christian gospel who demonstrate the latter viewpoint. They are realistic about the presence of evil in the world, but they see God as in control of the world, and see the future as bright. Progressives and liberals see the world as gloomy and hopeless. It is in danger of being destroyed by nuclear weapons, guns, global climate change, and by religious fundamentalists. Man is in control of their world, so man must regulate it to save it. They always want more laws passed so that the evil forces may be kept in abeyance. People need to be controlled. If they are not, then chaos will certainly break out upon us all.

Christians, though, know that law is necessary but that it is never the final answer. The law of Moses demonstrated that. It was taken away because it was faulty at its base. It operated on wrong premises. It was against us and contrary to us, so God replaced it with the Christian system (Col. 2:14). Loving God with all the heart is key to spiritual success (Matt. 12:30). The heart is the signal regulatory feature of Christianity (Heb. 8:10), so the heart must be carefully regulated by the individual who owns it (Prov. 4:23). It sets the parameters of life and is the best directional indicator of one’s attainments.

So, a happy heart is critical to one’s overall mental stability and whether or not one’s existence is pleasant or unpleasant. Listen to the Bible’s guidance on the matter:

A glad heart makes a cheerful face, but by sorrow of heart the spirit is crushed. The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge, but the mouths of fools feed on folly. All the days of the afflicted are evil, but the cheerful of heart has a continual feast (Proverbs 15:13-15).

A few observations on this seminal text are in order:

1. The face is the window to the human soul. Note that the writer says that a glad heart produces a cheerful face. This is a well-known fact in human interaction. William Shakespeare once wrote, “Lay aside life-harming heaviness, and entertain a cheerful disposition” (Richard II 2.3). A smile on the face is one of the best of all indicators of one’s disposition at any given time. Make no mistake about: the Bible recommends a cheerful disposition to us. There are many reasons for this, but one of the most obvious is that people will be drawn to us if we are cheerful and pushed away if we are not. No one enjoys being around individuals who are depressed and discouraged. We, of course, have a duty to minister to the needs of such folks. They need help. But it is rather natural to recognize the human tendency to steer clear of them. If you want to make people like you and listen to you, present a cheerful face to the world.

Tyler Perry, the actor and director, is said to have remarked that his mother took him to church and he would see her there with the people smiling and happy. This made a lasting impression on him. And he thought to himself that he wanted to know this God who made his mother so happy. This is precisely why we ought to strive to be happy, smiling people, especially when we are in worship. Saved people should be happy people. Those who are forgiven and redeemed ought to the most cheerful people in the world. Our children and our friends should see us so. Only then will they want to be like us and want to join with us in our worship and service to the Lord.

I remember when my dear friend Dave Turner (now deceased) would lead the singing. He would always do so with a pleasant smile on his face. It was obvious to all who saw him when he directed the singing that he loved and enjoyed singing praises to the Lord. His smile told the story. Our smile should tell a similar story to those who encounter us both in worship and in our daily lives. The Lord loves us and suffered immeasurably to make us his own. Why would we not be cheerful and smile?

2. A burden of sorrow crushes the spirit. This is one of those spiritual truths that almost “goes without saying.” We all recognize the rightness of it. It is natural that we grieve the various losses that we experience in life. But grief should not ever be overwhelming. It was never meant to be so. The believer has a different perspective on it, or at least, ought to have. Fyodor Dostoyevsky wrote in Crime and Punishment, “The darker the night, the brighter the stars, The deeper the grief, the closer is God!” This is indeed how things ought to be, but it is not necessarily how they always are. If we permit sorrow, trouble or temptation to weigh too heavily upon us by failing to turn to God in prayer for his help or else permitting our faith to weaken and blame him for our misfortunes, then our spirit may be crushed.

But let it be understood that a spirit that is crushed is a result of bad choices. We have the power within easy reach to avoid it happening to us. We have the potential to “sorrow as those who have no hope” or else to “comfort one another” with the words of Scripture (1 Thess. 4:13-18) as regards any hurt or loss we may experience. It is our choice. Of course, sorrow that precedes repentance is a wholesome thing, and ought to be allowed to accomplish its salutary mission (2 Cor. 7:10).

3. We must work on our heart and make it a cheerful one. “Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the springs (issues) of life” (Prov. 4:23). Keeping the heart requires diligence. Cheerful, happy hearts do not happen accidentally. A positive attitude and disposition does not develop naturally or on account of a genetic predisposition.It takes work to create an inner mental environment where happiness can find a permanent home. And if we are not careful, sorrow, depression and negativity will always be lurking around the corner ready to push it out and take its place within our heart.

Cultivation of a cheerful attitude and a pleasant countenance represent a continual challenge. But we are up to the challenge. The Lord will readily supply the wisdom needed to make it happen: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him (Jas 1:5).

Our Lord introduced his Sermon on the Mount with a number of Beatitudes, sayings that employ the expression, “Blessed are….” In all these cases he employed the Greek term makarios, “to be happy,” “to be congratulated.” A few of these instances require a special mindset in order to make them understandable. For example, “blessed (or happy) are those who have been persecuted,” can only be comprehended in terms of those who are able to view suffering in the name of Christ as an honor and a privilege of those whom the Lord deems worthy. The apostles Peter and John saw it so when they were beaten on account of their bold preaching (cf. Acts 5:41). So it can be done, even in very difficult circumstances, but it does sometimes require considerable effort.

4. There is no end to the blessings that are associated with a cheerful heart. The sage of Proverbs calls it “a continual feast.” That means “all you can eat” every day of every week. That is a tall order! But that is the promise of God’s Word.

One immediate blessing that is patently obvious is good health. Says the Scripture: “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength” (Prov. 17:22). When we are worried, sorrowful, angry, or depressed, the body’s defense mechanisms do not work as well. Many diseases, such as cancer, viral and bacterial infections, etc., gain a foothold in the body when its defenses are thus compromised. A host of modern medical studies have proven this biblical truism. So, stay happy, and you will stay healthy!

Probably the most important blessing of an optimistic outlook and a cheerful heart is abiding faithfulness. People who are disappointed and depressed tend to quit. Those who are positive about what the future holds, on the other hand, will hang on for one more day. I remember a story about three men who spent many days in a small dinghy after their boat capsized. The two who survived the ordeal spoke of the one man who perished and said that he was a pessimist from the first day. He did not last very long. He died in misery. The other two men were also miserable but they held out until they were rescued. They were convinced that he could have made it also, if only he had permitted himself to live through it. In like fashion, many people fall by the wayside, spiritually speaking, because they do not have a cheerful heart. Jesus has given his people the victory if only they will remain steadfast to the end, so said the apostle Paul to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 15:57, 58).

On three different occasions, Jesus told his disciples to “be of good cheer” (Matt. 9:2; 14:27; paralleled in Mk. 6:50; and Jn. 16:33). On each of these occasions there was an overwhelming circumstance that would normally have prevented them from seeing anything cheerful about the situation. Paul did likewise on three occasions in Acts (23:11; 27: 22, 25). So, please understand this: being cheerful is a spiritual duty. Therefore, we should be of good cheer and reflect that we are so by wearing a smile and demonstrating a cheerful disposition most of the time.