Sermon Snippet – A Short and Simple Sermon on Sadness
INTRODUCTION – For most people (perhaps all), Memorial Day is more than a break from work, more than a reason for a long weekend. Like you, I have folks who care about me and for whom I care. Also like you, I have family and friends that I miss dearly – and the number grows each year. Let us briefly consider what the Bible says about sadness.
1. WE CANNOT IGNORE SADNESS
Ecclesiastes 7:3-4 does not mean that we are to be glum and gloomy, long-faced, always looking for a cloud in a motherlode of silver. Rather, “sorrow” is part of life, and any attempt to scornfully laugh it away will be unsuccessful. Ecclesiastes 3:4 points us to a balanced approach to life: “A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.”
2. WE MUST NOT ADD TO SADNESS
We studied about false prophets last week. Ezekiel 13:22-23 excoriates the liars who afflicted God’s people in Babylon. These dissemblers had “made the heart of the righteous sad.” God spoke forcefully against these unrighteous babblers. Any attempt to attack the genuine faith of the children of God will be met with His forthright denunciation, and He “will deliver” His people from such assaults.
3. WE ARE NOT TO MANIPULATE SADNESS
Jesus’ teaching about fasting in Matthew 6:16-18 warns against a mask of manipulation, against “a sad countenance” for show. The religious leaders of that time sometimes made a spectacle of fasting, an act that should be deeply personal, between a believer and God. The desire for attention is strong in our culture today. Christians should not seek the spotlight (John 3:30 – “He [Jesus] must increase, but I [John the Baptist] must decrease”; remember, Jesus said that no greater person than John has ever lived – Matthew 11:11). We should also not pretend to be sad in an attempt to make others feel sad for us. Increasing the amount of sadness in the world is an unworthy goal.
CONCLUSION – Let us contrast the sadnesses of Mark 10:22 and Luke 24:17. The former borders on an eternal sadness; the latter is swept away be the certainty of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Without Him as Savior, sadness becomes a way of life – forever; with Him, sadness is part of life – but not forever.