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.)
For the last two day, we have been considering II John 4 and III John 3-4 and ruminating upon specific ways that we can be sources of joy to others. The distinction between happiness and joy is important. One difference that we discussed yesterday is length of time. Another is closeness of relationship. For example, I was taught as a youngster to hold doors for others. It is a good habit, one practiced by quite a number of people. Holding a door for someone else is a polite act that is usually met with a smile of happiness. However,holding one’s tongue in a relationship is much harder and much more important. To develop that habit of self-control requires both time and a sincere concern for the continuation of the closeness of the connection. Joy is a crucial element of any good relationship and must be valued as God values it. Let us then desire to develop relationships of joy.