Issue 128
There is a proverb which says ‘if anyone loudly blesses a neighbour early in the morning it will be taken as a curse’ (27: 14). Those of you who are not morning types will know the feeling. There is something deeply irritating about someone who wants reach for the sky when you want to crawl under a stone. There is a brand of bright and sunny which creates a reaction of dark and cynical in others and provokes not happiness but mockery. Maybe in writing these lines I am giving away my character or cultural background but even so, if Solomon is to be believed, sometimes Middle Eastern mornings could be spoilt.
To add to the syndrome, many who do not attend church will add the words ‘cheesy grin’ to their descriptions of Christians, thus identifying the brand as being part of a smile franchise purely designed to annoy the real people and sell a bland superficiality. Yet there is something compelling about a person who radiates a positive inner warmth. This magnetism is particularly powerful when the individual concerned is facing a difficult moment, a pressurised workload or some unfair treatment. Someone who, in the face of physical or mental pain, has an aura of calm or openness invites others not to mock but to investigate. This person may not take themselves obsessively seriously but others sit up and take notice. A warm yet thoughtful demeanour invites others to move in closer in a cold and unforgiving working climate. It is because such a person has an air of reality which transcends market forces, business trends or customer behaviour that their lives are intriguing. There is another threat to this lifestyle: for some, Christian teaching has encouraged the view that faith is not about happiness and that God’s will always includes a large dose of difficulty, sacrifice and pain.
Nevertheless, Paul is quite clear – “be joyful always”- when he writes to his faithful friends. Clearly, this joyfulness is not of the irritating, but the magnetic type. It is not determined by the last team meeting or boss’s comment; it is not measured by the amount of money coming in. If it were, it would be unreasonable to be expected to be joyful always. The nutrients for this lifestyle must come from the Spirit of God himself. The endless, continuous characteristic can only be sourced from a timeless supplier. There is a depth, power and complexity to this joyful trait which generates blessing not cursing. It is not loud in the morning or cheesy during the day. It is not superficial or irrelevant or hallmarked with a stamp of unreality. It shines in the stressed moments and flourishes under pressure. The main emotion it provokes is envy: people will want what you have found. Paul continues that far from being false, this is in fact God’s will for you, and the final clue to its origin, he explains, is that it is “in Christ Jesus”; yet again, his work rescues ours.
1 Thessalonians 5:12-24
12Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. 13Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. 14 And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 15Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else. 16Be joyful always; 17pray continually; 18give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 19Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; 20do not treat prophecies with contempt. 21Test everything. Hold on to the good. 22Avoid every kind of evil. 23May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.
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Geoff Shattock
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