I will sing praises to my God as long as I exist! Do not trust in princes,
or in human beings, who cannot deliver! Their life’s breath departs, they return to the ground; on that day their plans die. How blessed is the one whose helper is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, the one who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them, who remains forever faithful, vindicates the oppressed,
and gives food to the hungry. The Lord releases the imprisoned. The Lord gives sight to the blind. The Lord lifts up all who are bent over. The Lord loves the godly.
Psalms 146:1-8
Ah, those thrilling days of yesteryear when every summer saw parental units drop their over-sugared kids off at the church for the annual tradition of Vacation Bible School. It was always a week filled with Kool-Aid, hot dogs, water games, sword drills and in my (Steve) case - a guy dressed up as the devil sitting in the church’s sanctuary beams staring down on a gathering of unsuspecting children and scaring the last ounce of rebellion out of us with his red suit, long tail and pitchfork. Yeah, that really happened.
One of the most noted characteristics of VBS is the music. It was in those days of yore that we learned that the B-I-B-L-E yeah that’s the book for me...we discovered we were in the Lord’s army...we were taught Jesus loves me this I know...and that God is bigger than the boogie man - thank you Veggie Tales.
The one song that stands tall above all the rest - in my not so humble opinion - is “If You’re Happy and You Know It.” EVERY. SINGLE. VERSE. It always got the kids jumping up and down - which was helpful for the teachers who had the over rambunctious kiddies who did not know what it meant to sit still. Those of us who led the opening always thought it was our job to “Wear em out and then send em out.”
Unfortunately, something happened between those days of innocent shouting and memory verses and today when people are just simply not happy. Or sure, we excel at opinions, we are adept at arguing, and we can deflate someone’s joy in a matter of seconds. SOME PEOPLE JUST CANNOT BE HAPPY. What’s worse - they don’t want anyone else around them to be happy either! (Don’t believe me? Here’s your homework for this next Sunday: When the people are singing hymns celebrating God and His Son Jesus watch how many actually smile...tally the total and report back next week.) I won’t need a calculator...
There are many people we know who attend church (where you are supposed to praise and celebrate) and you never see them smile! It looks as if they are preparing for an Olan Mills portrait circa 1904. Black and white photo. Grim faces. It looks as if they just received news about the store being out of toilet paper again. You would never know they follow the Author of joy and happiness.
The Bible definitely speaks more of joy (eternal) than happiness (temporary). But, we wonder. If you are filled with joy - shouldn’t your face and voice translate that to the world as happiness? Certainly there are times when we are not happy - again, it is temporary. But, for the most part, should Christians not be the happiest people?
It reminds us of a great story a pastor once told. There was a woman in his congregation that never smiled. One Sunday she approached him after the service and told him how much his message on love and laughter really moved her. Seeing she still wasn’t smiling, the pastor placed his hand upon her shoulder and looking into her eyes said, “Well, I wish you would notify your face!”
Alright. Now that you’re finished perusing this fantastic piece of writing, pull out your phone, turn on the camera, switch the view so you can see your face. Are you happy? Then notify your face…
Steve and Missy
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