Do you want to be happy all the time? Of course, is what I hear you saying. Unfortunately, many of us do not know about Jesus’ prescription for happiness. In fact, too often, we practice the exact opposite of what Jesus says is the root of all happiness. Before we go too deep into why many of us are not happy constantly, note that Jesus is about joy. He came to give us joy, a deeper version of happiness. However, He knows that not all of us can have joy until He starts living inside of us.
That is why He gives you a prescription to adopt if you want to be happy. His prescription is often referred to as the beatitudes or what someone has called beautiful attitudes. Only you can tell how beautiful your attitudes are. But before you investigate, we do well to examine the prescription. We find a good copy of it in Matthew 5. 3-12; Luke 6.20-23 also has a shortened form of the prescription. Keep in mind, we are still on the mental health aspect of our series on divine health. And happiness is a bedrock of great mental health.
Studies have even shown that you can lose more weight if you are happy than if you are not. Some people have linked unhappiness to a greater formation of cancer cells. That is to let you know the reason you want to be happy at all costs. It affects so many areas of health that you cannot afford to remain unhappy if you want to be in good health.
The Other Health Effects of Unhappiness
These include, according to the family doctor: back pain, change in appetite, chest pain, dry mouth, extreme tiredness, general aches and pains, high blood pressure, trouble sleeping, lightheadedness, the feeling that your heart is racing, sexual problems, shortness of breath, stiff neck, sweating, upset stomach, weight gain or loss.
The Beautiful Attitudes
Please note that when Jesus gave His prescription, He did not give it a name. But you know that labels are a useful tool for remembering ideas. The copy in Matthew (Good News Translation) says:
Happy are those who know they are spiritually poor; the Kingdom of heaven belongs to them!
And Happy are those who mourn; God will comfort them!
Happy are those who are humble; they will receive what God has promised!
And happy are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires; God will satisfy them fully!
Happy are those who are merciful to others; God will be merciful to them!
And happy are the pure in heart; they will see God!”
Happy are those who work for peace; God will call them his children!
And happy are those who are persecuted because they do what God requires; the Kingdom of heaven belongs to them! Happy are you when people insult you and persecute you and tell all kinds of evil lies against you because you are my followers. Be happy and glad, for a great reward is kept for you in heaven. This is how the prophets who lived before you were persecuted.”
Whichever way you look at it, this is a very hard prescription for happiness. But if truly you want to be happy, you will have to learn and practice it. But today, because of our focus on health, we consider only the first and the last attitudes. Do you for instance realize that you are spiritually poor or do you believe you are in control? I know people who think they control something and then a disaster happens. That is when they exclaim “I was helpless when I saw I was not in control.”
Emulate Jesus If You Want to be Happy
When such people are in the church, you will recognize them by the force of all their actions. Even their prayers are with force; their testimonies, everything is forceful. They even preach forcefully, thinking that salvation will come to their audience through their preaching.
Such ‘Christians’ are never happy because instead of being spiritually poor, they forget that ministry results depend on God. If you want to be happy, learn that you do not control anything and become spiritually poor. Remember that the battle is not to the mighty nor the race to the swift. The only thing you can control is yourself and that only comes as a gift of the Holy Spirit.
We now come to the last beautiful attitude, which tells us to be happy when people insult us. How is that even possible? Not in your own strength, most definitely because we are into ‘an eye for an eye’. But if you want to be happy, you must learn to be like Jesus, who did not insult when he was insulted. As he was dying, He even prayed for those who put him on the cross. How could He do that which is by all measures impossible? He had a secret.
He was able to endure because He looked forward to the joy before Him. That is why He concluded his happiness prescription by saying this. Be happy and glad, for a great reward is kept for you in heaven. Do you know, like Jesus did that there is a reward for you in heaven? Then, be happy and rejoice. If you want to be happy constantly, do what the beautiful attitudes say. It is Jesus’ prescription for happiness both now and in eternity.
Stay Tuned.
Maranatha!
