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 VIII: BE HAPPY ANYWAY!
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
(Matthew 5:10)
Who Me? Persecuted? I would not say that I have been persecuted in my life. I have had it pretty good, with ups and downs, problems that I found difficult to deal with, but persecuted? I’m not sure about that. I suppose it depends on what Jesus meant when He used the word persecuted.
It might help to understand the context in which Jesus spoke this eighth beatitude. After all, He was speaking to people who had been abused throughout their history due to their identification as God’s chosen people.
The abuse had taken the form of slavery, bloody wars, destruction of cities, large numbers of inhabitants taken into captivity, despicable abuses of women and children, and so forth.
When Jesus came, the multitudes found themselves ready to follow a deliverer who would conquer their enemies. Instead, here was a Teacher sent from God to comfort them, and to confront not the enemies without but the enemies within.
For you see, as it turned out, the enemies within their ranks were more destructive of their hope for a promising future than the enemies without.
And isn’t that the way it is today? In our world, in our country, in our communities, there are forces at work that would destroy Christianity from within, if we give in to their schemes to do us harm rather than good. When we encounter wolves in sheep’s clothing, as is the case not only in major cities but also in small towns and communities, we must stand firm and speak out, and not be silenced by criticism for standing up for our beliefs.
You might say that, most of the time silence is golden, but there are times when silence is yellow. Dr. Vic Pentz, pastor of Peachtree Road Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, in a televised sermon, called it to his listeners’ attention that Atlanta must be aware of the magnet the city has become for criminal elements.
As a specific example, he referred to the arrest of a businessman from NYC, who would come to Atlanta on a regular basis on an early morning flight, conduct his criminal activity, then fly back to NYC that same evening so as to be home that night.
Dr. Pentz went on to point out that the city of Atlanta is making giant strides in its efforts to clean up the city and to get rid of the red light districts within the city limits.
Problem is: Some of those same criminal elements that are being run out of the big city are making their way into the suburbs – even into small towns and communities – including some in Clayton County.
Now - Do you think for one moment that folks who dare to speak out as did Dr. Pentz, and those in our own county who are standing up and being counted, are not being criticized and characterized as being out of touch?
The opposite is true. Those who do not have the best interests of the people at heart are the ones, in many cases, getting the sympathy. Those who do have the best interests of their communities at heart and have dared to let their voices be heard, are getting the criticism.
Let us be sure we hear what Jesus said: “Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness!” “Happy are folks who are willing to suffer if need be for the sake of living a righteous life!” “Happy are those who have the courage to stand up and speak out. “
Those of us who try to live for God in 2007 may not have been beaten to a pulp, or thrown into prison, or herded like cattle into a gas chamber. But Christians and Jews alike - those who take a stand today for the sake of righteousness – find themselves subjected to sarcastic remarks, ridicule, rude treatment, and the rear end of crude jokes. Such reactions toward those who try to do right constitute a form of persecution.
In the old days, when some of us were a lot younger, trying to follow Christ as teenagers and mustering the courage to carry a Bible with us to school - when we were make fun of, we sort of camouflaged our feelings by saying something like, “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” Wrong!
Now that I have lived longer than my three score and ten, I know better. Let me rephrase my teenage defense mechanism by putting it this way: “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words hurt too!” Have you ever been persecuted? Do you ever feel persecuted? Perhaps you have; and it may be that you did not even recognize it as such. It may have taken the form of words, a nasty letter, a rude phone call, slanderous gossip, a proverbial stab in the back, or avoidance.
Yes, there may have been times when folks avoided you because they considered you to be a religious fanatic or a “holy Joe” or just a joke period.
If you have ever felt that way, or if you feel that way now, here’s what I think Jesus says to you: “Be of good cheer! You can choose to be happy anyway.” Yes! You can be happy even if you are the innocent victim of real but not imagined injustice, insult, injury, discrimination, or prejudice.
Some people I have known, who have gone through the kinds of persecution I have described, emerged from the fire, not unhurt, but stronger in their faith than ever before. How could that be?
To answer that question, I would like to draw from a poetic phrase that came from the lips of a famous preacher. In connection with a sermon he preached, he referred to turning scars into stars. Here’s the thought that I want you to get from this eighth Be Attitude: The way to be happy, in spite of persecution, is to turn your scars into stars!
Along that line, I want to make several suggestions based on my own personal observations of people who turned their scars into stars.
Stay positive. You can choose to rejoice in the peace that Jesus gives in spite of your circumstances. If you ever read the book, The Diary of Anne Frank, you will see that even though her family had to hide from the Nazis, and live in fear under subhuman conditions, her father kept them from dying of despair by his optimistic spirit and his prayers.
Persevere in doing what is right. Even though some family and friends may abandon you during your times of trouble, never give up hope, and do not stop believing in the goodness of God. His promises are sure. God is for you; therefore, what does it matter if someone or something is against you?
Raymond Beasley, a disabled neighbor who lived across the street from me in Augusta, sat on his front porch every morning as I left to go to work. Without fail, Mr. Beasley would call to me and say in a cheerful voice, “Good morning, Charles. Just remember: you can’t lose if God is on your side. That’s your thought for today.” “Thank you, Mr. Beasley, I’ll keep that in mind.”
Pardon those who have hurt you. I know that you may be thinking, “Now that is awfully hard to do” – and it is. Nevertheless, do it. Keep on forgiving until anyone who hurt you as well as the hurt itself no longer plagues you every day. There’s no need to carry that pain within. You can get rid of it! How?
Forgive - in the sense that you make a promise that you will not hold that grudge against them anymore. Forget - in the sense that you keep your promise! Listen:
When you “bury the hatchet” be sure to bury the handle with it. “But,” you say, “they ought to ask me to forgive them” – and you’re right; good for them if they do – but did those who crucified Jesus ask Him to forgive them? “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” In other words, forgive them anyway!
Persist in trusting God. Be like Job and say, “Though he slays me, yet will I trust in him.” (Job 13:15) Nothing could separate Job from his trust in God. Paul put it in the form of a question: “Who shall separate us from the love of God?” Then he named everything under the sun and came to this conclusion: “Nothing can separate me from the Love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Previously I mentioned The Diary of Anne Frank, whose family spent months in the darkness. Let me share with you three lines that were found scrawled in the floor of their hiding place: I believe in the sun even when it is not shining. I believe in love even when I do not feel it. I believe in God even when He is silent.
Pray for spiritual strength. Even when you face adversity, ask God to give you supernatural strength to believe and to rejoice anyway!
Jesus himself remains our best example of how to deal with persecution. He was born during a time of persecution. He lived through persecution. He died by persecution. He rose again after persecution.
There IS life after persecution.
Think about this. Your life on this earth is only a pilgrimage. Heaven is our eternal destiny. Jesus left these words for us to remember all the days of our lives: “Because I live, ye shall live.”
That promise alone should be all I need to make me happy - in spite of my circumstances. So, I want to leave with you a little poem that will do you good if you will repeat it to yourself: “I’m going to be happy today! Though the skies are cloudy and gray, No matter what comes my way, I’m going to be happy today!” Amen!
