Join in the Joy
Through the years, I have frequently preached about joy. It is more than an emotion (although it includes emotion); rather, it is a settled attitude, a stable and sturdy approach to life that focuses us on the things that matter now and forever. Joy is much greater and much more powerful than happiness, which is event or circumstance driven. There is nothing wrong with happiness. It is certainly better than unhappiness. Also, we have different personalities. For example, my wife is happy-go-lucky. Of course, she has every reason to be, being married to me. However, not everyone can be married to me. We need something more substantial than happiness; that something is joy. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
Philippians 4:4 is a familiar verse: “Rejoice in the Lord alway; and again I say, Rejoice.” We have previously considered the division in the Philippian church (verse 2), a personality clash that Paul knew could break out into factions. Paul reminds the church of the better way of coming alongside, yoking ourselves together, and working for a common purpose (verse 3). However, this is not to be a grim exercise in what I call Eeyore Christianity: “Oh well, I guess I have to do it, and I will if I really have to, but I don’t want to, and I’m not going to be happy about it, but I’ll try to do what is expected of me… even if it kills me.” We can be serious-minded and rejoice; certainly Paul is a good example for us. Remember that, as he is exhorting others to joy, he remains imprisoned. However, rather than be like Eeyore, he chose to be like Christ (Hebrews 12:2). We, too, can decide to dispel Eeyore’s dark cloud and instead joy in the light of the Lord.