The Smiling Heart
Proverbs 15:13-15; 17:22
There is "a time to weep, and a time to laugh" (Eccl. 3:4). We all face the problem of depression at times. Solomon also tells us how depression is overcome ("A merry heart") and how it can overwhelm ("a broken spirit drieth the bones").
God puts no premium on somberness. He loves His children, and delights in their happiness. The Bible encourages gladness, joy and a cheerful spirit –"In the world ye shall have tribulation: But be of good cheer…" (John 16:33).
I. The life of a cheerful RADIANCE. (15:13, 15).
*The heart is the spring and source of all action (4:23). When the heart is right, the life will be right. God always starts from the center and works out (15:13). ILLUS: Building the Tabernacle.
The face is the index to the heart. What happens in the heart paints the face with a scowl, a smile, or a sneer (cf. Esther 5:9-14).
"Smile, and the world smiles with you." Or, "Smile, and the world wonders what you’re up to, or taking!"
"A face in the sunshine will chase the shadows from the heart."
Some people’s faces look like a mule who’s been dining all day on unripened persimmons.
What makes a merry heart?
A. It issues from a CLEAN heart ¾ "Blessed [happy] is the pure in heart" (Mt. 5:8). Cheerfulness and sinfulness cannot coexist (Ps. 51:12).
*We must seek to maintain a "clear conscience."
B. It issues from a CONTENTED heart? "Be content, I pray thee, …and let thine heart be merry" (Judges 19:6).
1. Discontented people are miserable.
2. Examples: Israel in the wilderness.
C. It issues from a COMMITTED heart–"…whoso trusteth in the LORD, happy is he" (Proverbs 16:20).
II. The life of cheerful INFLUENCE.
*A cheerful disposition has both an internal and external effect.
A. The internal influence of a merry heart.
1. A negative spirit can induce an unhealthy condition.
Many illnesses are psychosomatic (psyche = mind; soma = body), they are the result of emotional disorders: self-pity, worry (ulcers), fear (sweat), anger/bitterness/hatred (acid in the soul), guilt, or stress (high bloodpressure). A car doesn’t stop running because it is fifteen or twenty years old. It stops because stress as worn out one or more of it’s parts.
People are "stressed-out." Statistics have indicated that two-thirds of the patients who went to a doctor had symptoms caused or aggravated by mental stress.# As one doctor put it, "Its not what you eat, but what eats you."# [SEE CHART]
2. A life of innocent merriment is healthy to our individual growth and well-being. IT IS BEST TO FOLLOW THE DOCTOR’S ORDERS!
Research found when laboratory test animals were subjected to extreme fatigue, frustration, and noise, they develop physical symptoms. Their blood pressure soars; vital adrenal glands become grossly enlarged, and they develop peptic ulcers. In one study a mouse and a cat were put in adjoining cages. The mouse died shortly from anxiety. #
There is no medicine as effective as a good laugh from a merry heart for chasing away hypochondria.
Medicine soothes—Makes us feel better/anxiety reduced.
Medicine reduces pain—Makes painful situations bearable. Pain of hurt feelings; failures; fatigue.
Medicine heals— Laughing Yourself Healthy
Laughter really is the best medicine, says a new study. Norwegian researchers have discovered that a good sense of humor can extend life, especially in the face of a disease such as cancer. Researcher Sven Svebak surveyed 54,000 Norwegians on the role of humor in their lives, then tracked their health status for seven years. He found that those who scored the highest for humor were 35 percent less likely to die in the successive years than those who scored lowest. Of the 2,015 people who had cancer at the beginning of the study, those with a humorous take on life were 70 percent more likely to survive than those who were less lighthearted. "Humor works like a shock absorber in a car," Sveback tells USA Today.#
*It is not survival of the fittest… It is survival of the silliest!
3. Cheerful Christians are strong Christians, because "the joy of the Lord is their strength" (Neh 8:10).
B. The EXTERNAL influence of a merry heart.
1. People are attracted to a cheerful countenance.
*A cheerful Christian greets others with a WELCOME; a word of ENCOURAGEMENT; an ENTHUSIASM for the task at hand; and a POSITIVE outlook on tomorrow. Such people are as welcome as pain-relieving medicine.
A good laugh can break the tension. Spurgeon said about pulpit humor, "I use humor. I tickle my oyster with humor until its shell is open¾then I put the knife in."
When I’m invited to preach in a different church, sometimes the atmosphere is tense. I’m facing a large group of faces I’ve never seen before. They are looking at me, sizing me up. So I usually begin by telling a funny story to "break the ice."
2. Christian cheerfulness should be conspicuous, continuous and contagious. "Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.".
SUMMATION: A beggar was collecting beer bottles to cash in when he stopped at the home of a wealthy family. He asked the lady of the house, "Ma’am, do you have any empty beer bottles I could take off your hands?" The lady answered, "Do I look like the kind of woman who would drink beer?" "Sorry, ma’am. Perhaps you might have some pickle jars?"
How long has it been since someone has complimented your cheerful countenance? (1 Pet. 3:14-15).
Are you a "pain-reliever" or just a "pain"?

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