PRESCRIPTION FOR HAPPINESS
The Beatitudes – Matthew 5:1-12
Everybody I know wants to be happy. However, it appears to me that some folks may not understand what true happiness is.
There are those, for example, who seem to think that lots of money would make them happy; yet, some of the wealthiest people in the world have said that fortune brought misery to their lives.
Others seem to think that if they could just be famous, they would be happy; yet, many famous folks come to the end of their way feeling unhappy due to loneliness and sadness.
Neither fame nor fortune brings true happiness to any individual. This is as true today as it was when Jesus preached a sermon about happiness during his ministry on this earth.
Times have changed, but the search for happiness is still one of our top priorities.
Perhaps we would do well to adopt as one of our main goals in life: To be happy and to make other happy.
One of the memories that I cherish of my father-in-law is the note that he wrote to himself and taped on the mirror into which he looked every morning when he shaved.
The note read:
“Thursday mornings
Go to nursing home
Make people happy.”
Whether in a nursing home or not, we all want to be happy. We want to wake up each morning with a reason for living yet another day . . . with an inward feeling of assurance that life is worthwhile . . . with no thought as to whether or not our needs are going to be met that day . . . with as bright an outlook on life as possible . . . with the hope that someone who needs a word of encouragement will cross our path that day; so, “Lord, help me to encourage someone today.”
My father-in-law discovered happiness by making others happy. He could not make people happy by giving them money; nor could he make them happy by offering them fame. He did so simply by going where there was a need for encouragement. Oftentimes all he had to offer was a smile, a handshake, or a pat on the back, without saying a word. His actions spoke, as if to say, “Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have, give I thee.”
When Jesus saw a multitude of people searching for happiness, he had pity on them – and then, “He went up on a mountainside and sat down, and he began to teach them.”
“How to be Happy” was the theme of the first lesson Jesus taught in His “Sermon on the Mount”. Here was the Great Physician, taking time to sit down with those longing for a happy life, giving them a prescription consisting of eight components of the blessing of happiness.
Think of these eight components as noted minister-author Robert Schuler and my long-time friend Harmon Born, along with other respected servants of God have suggested: BE Attitudes – the person God wants me (us) to BE.
When a medical doctor prescribes an antibiotic, the patient is advised to take the entire dosage over a period of time in order to realize the full benefit of the prescription.
Jesus our Great Physician advises those who desire true happiness to incorporate all eight BE Attitudes into daily life if they (we) want to benefit fully from God’s Prescription for Happiness. Amen.
PRESCRIPTION FOR HAPPINESS SERMON VII: BE A PEACEMAKER
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.”
(Matthew 5:9)
What kind of person are you? What kind of reputation do you have? How would you like to be remembered? What kind of opinion do people have of you? Who do people say you are?
It’s okay to ask ourselves such questions. Even Jesus put the question to his apostles: “Who do men say that I am?” He wanted to know what kind of reputation he had; he wanted to know what people were saying about him; and, you will recall that opinions about Jesus varied.
I believe that I can speak for you in saying without reservation that most, if not all of you, above all else want to be known as “a child of God.” What a worthy goal in life! What a noble ambition! What a privilege - to be known as “a child of God!” “I am a child of God!” That makes me a very important person – a VIP. “I am somebody!”
Jesus thought so too. He stood before the people who had gathered that day on the side of a mountain to hear Him, and told them they were important in the sight of God.
He knew that every person in that crowd longed for happiness; but He also knew that, for the most part, folks were looking for happiness in the wrong ways and in the wrong places. He taught them how to be happy!
He sought to point them in the right direction by holding up before them eight ways to discover THE way of happiness; and in the seventh be attitude, Jesus admonished these very important people to be peacemakers “for,” said Jesus, “they (the peacemakers) shall be called children of God.”
Jesus made this clear to every person who really cares about their legacy: If you really want to be remembered as a child of God, and in this life you really want to be happy, it is imperative that you be a peacemaker! “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.”
How can I be a peacemaker when I am confined to an assisted living center, rehab center, or nursing home? Surely the Lord knows there’s not a whole lot I can do to bring about peace. I’ll just leave it up to those who have the power to bring about peace; and, if that is the way you feel, of course you are partly right; there’s not much you and I can do, for example, to bring about world peace except to pray for peace on earth.
Remember the words of the popular song: “Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin in me.”
What I want you to realize is that when we talk about peace, we are not just talking about global world peace. We are talking about doing what we can, whenever we can, wherever we are, to contribute to peace in our own little world.
If there is a “fence” that needs to be mended between two friends or family members, we can always encourage the quarreling folks to settle their differences peacefully - unselfishly - in a way that benefits both of them.
If there is a “bridge” that needs to be built between two residents who live under the same roof, be a “bridge builder” by befriending each of the two – one at a time; and, while in the presence of one, speak kindly of the other; continue to do so quietly until you see progress in their relationship. The words of Ralph Waldo Emerson ring so true:
“God evidently does not intend for all of us to be rich, or powerful, or great, but He does intend for all of us to be friends.”
Yet, there may be someone who has offended you, or mistreated you, or spoken harshly to you. May I suggest the most effective way to bring about peace between you and your adversary?
Forgive! Whether they ask you to or not, forgive them. Forgiveness is one of the greatest weapons available to us for living together in harmony.
Encouraging one another – building bridges of friendship – forgiving one another; these are ways of becoming peacemakers where you live.
What I am saying to you is that every one of us can be a peacemaker – no matter who we are, where we live, or what we do. Neither does it matter whether I am a person of great influence or a person whose limitations are such that opportunities are few and far between, I can be a peacemaker. Most of us fall into the category of few and far between; but I challenge you to make the most of whatever opportunities you DO have.
I want to inspire you to be a peacemaker by telling you about a man of tremendous wealth and character who served as a peacemaker.
Truett Cathy is the founder of Chick-Fil-A. In an interview which he shared on a religious radio broadcast, he told about how he was trying to get his business off the ground through advertising.
Mr. Cathy shared this story: “One day an idea dawned on me. There were competing newspapers in town, and the editors of these papers would not walk on the same side of the street with each other! Since everyone knew about their feud, I invited the two editors to meet with me. I asked each one individually if he would come to my place to discuss a full-page ad that I might run in his newspaper.
“Neither one of them knew that I had called the other. When they got there, face to face with each other, they suspected something was up.
“I said, ‘If you will do just one thing for me, I will give both of you a full-page ad. All I want you to do is sit over there in that booth and eat a chicken sandwich together. When you get through, we will take a picture of the two of you shaking hands. Then we will add this caption: ‘We disagree on many things, but there’s one thing we both agree on: This is the best chicken sandwich we have ever eaten.’”
Mr. Cathy at least got the two men to talk to each other. You might say that they became peace “talkers”. What our Lord wants from you and me is for us to be peace “makers” - in the sense that we get along with each other – even if we do so by sharing a chicken sandwich; or perhaps you would prefer a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Whatever! Most of us have something in common that we can agree on.
How much happier we all would be if those in our society who tend to be troublemakers became peacemakers! “Blessed are the peacemakers!”
Everyone’s heard of Willard Scott - the longtime humorist and weatherman for the NBC Today Show. What you may not know is that prior to his going into television, he was the original Ronald McDonald – the famous clown for the McDonald’s hamburger chain.
Willard is quoted as saying, “When I was a clown, I found that everybody loves a clown, no matter who the clown is; doesn’t matter if the clown is a Democrat or Republican, Catholic or Protestant or Jewish; it just doesn’t matter if you’re a clown. Folks simply want you to make them smile and feel happy.”
You don’t have to be a clown, although some of us might qualify, but you can smile; and when you do, those around you will smile with you.
This prince of a fella named Willard is a walking personification of happiness. He is indeed a jolly good fellow, and that no one can deny.
He attributes his positive outlook on life to his upbringing in a Baptist Church where he felt love and cared for by his pastor - who, he said, would pick him up when he was a little kid, hug him and the other kids, and in that way the pastor helped him to feel loved. You know what?
Happiness is helping someone feel loved; and when you make somebody happy, you are being a peacemaker.
There’s one other thing that is very important if we truly want to be a peacemaker. There can be no peace within families or among friends as long as there is a war going on in your own heart and mind.
You must make peace with yourself by making peace with God - if you really want to be a peacemaker.
The greatest peacemaker who ever lived was God’s Son and our Savior Jesus Christ. He was called the “Prince of Peace” because He came to die on a cross to pay the penalty for our sins so that we might at least have the opportunity to make peace with God by repenting of our sins and receiving Christ as our Savior.
There can be no greater love than God’s love for you combined with your love for others.
There can be no greater happiness than to know that God loves you and that someone else does too.
Rx for a peacemaker: Say to someone, “God loves you, and so do I.” Amen.
