Make the Choice. Be a Happy Person.

Proverbs 15:13 “A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance, but by sorrow of the heart, the spirit is broken.”

Okay so this verse rocks!  What the fisrt part is telling us is that it is GOOD to laugh and joke around, and all around be a pleasant and happy person.  If you know me, you know that I do quite a bit of it, so this is kind of my ‘backup’ verse!  Laughing and being joyful actually helps your body and helps you stay energized and  healthy.  So not only does Solomon (the wisest guy EVER next to God) say it’s good, but it’s been proven to help you.  Also it makes you an easier and ‘more fun’ person to be around…BINGO…as Christians we want more people to be around us so that we can then influence them for Christ, so being a happy person DEFINITELY helps. 

Who is more fun to be around…someone who is always serious and takes everything WAY to seriously, or someone who is serious when it is appropriate but is also really funny and knows how to joke around and be funny?  For me it’s definitely the latter.

However Solomon does gives us one caution…not to let being funny or joking around go so far that it’s hurts someone or hurts you and your reputation with others, either by not being serious and focused when you should be, or letting your joking and kidding around go so far that you literally (most of the time without meaning to) start making fun of people in a way that you shouldn’t.  Let me give you an example.  If you go to a friends funeral and the whole time you are there, you are cutting up and laughing with people…how does that make you look?  Also more than likely the family is going to be hurt by that because they will think – and rightfully so – that you really don’t care…so your happiness and joy may actually hurt others and your reputation at times if you are not careful to keep in check. 

So make the choice to be a happy and pleasant person, but keep it in check and don’t let it get to far.  Also we need to be serious when the time calls for it.