If there is one thing you don’t need people’s opinions or approval to do, it is smile. You don’t have to know or check the temperature of a room to smile. In fact, your smile brightens the room. There is nothing extravagant about a smile, and it doesn’t make any noise, yet it can be one of the most powerful tools in your spiritual toolbox. When you keep a smile on your face even in difficult times, you send two kinds of messages in the atmosphere. First, you are telling God that you will not let anything or anyone take away the joy and peace that He has placed in your heart. Second, you are telling the enemy that you know who is in control of your life. No wonder he hates it when you are joyful.
Now, just because you smile all the time, doesn’t mean you never get sad, upset, or frustrated. What a hypocritical statement it would be for me to tell you that keeping a smile on your face means that you are perfect and live an ideal life. We live in a world where it doesn’t take much for one to be discontented and upset. And these are valid emotions that shouldn’t be ignored. The difference is that these emotions shouldn’t overpower you. You shouldn’t be so frustrated to the point that when you enter a room, frustrations just walk in. For instance, suppose I am mad at someone or had an altercation with someone, I have the right to feel angry. However, that doesn’t give me the license to lash out at somebody else or walk around all grumpy. This means that my emotions have overpowered me.
Now it makes sense why the lady working at the store was so rude to you the other day when you asked her about the product. She wasn’t really mad at you, per se; she just had some unfinished emotional business she needed to take care of. Many people need to understand that wishing and talking about making the world a better place is simply not enough. The change must begin with every one of us. That’s why when we are sad, angry, upset, etc., it is recommended that we pray/ meditate, go for a walk, read the Bible or a good spiritual book, watch a comedy movie, or have a good laugh. Of course, the people next to you might think you are crazy, but pay them no mind, just think about something funny and laugh it out, or laugh at your own jokes. Someone may wonder why such nonsense approaches are used. The reason we do these things is because we are breaking what is trying to hold us captive. When you read Deuteronomy 6:12, for instance, that says, “Be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery,” to many this verse might mean, God is saying not to forget Him when you get to the promised land or when He prospers you, which in a sense is true but could it be that God is also reminding us not to forget the joy we felt when He set us free from slavery, from that addiction, that anger, that bitterness, that toxic relationship; how peaceful, freeing or liberating it felt, and to remember the difference. Have you ever considered why God insists that we remember what He’s done in the past? Is it because that makes Him less of a God when we don’t, or is it because it does something on the inside of us? The Bible says in Isaiah 26:3, “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You because he trusts in You.” Therefore, God wants us to keep the joy and peace that we have in Him, and the way to do that is by remaining fixated on Him.
Another thing we need to consider is the fact that the Bible commands us in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, “To rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances.” Another Bible verse is Proverbs 17:22, which says, “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.” I don’t know about you, but when I see dry bones, I also see wrinkles. That’s why we can all appreciate and understand why our brother, Kirk Franklin, has a song called “I Smile,” because we definitely look so much better when we do. If you put a mean person next to a joyful person and they are the same age, the mean person will most likely look older. Therefore, for those of us who want to age gracefully, a joyful heart is the way to go, and it doesn’t matter what they say or how they perceive it. Who is ‘they’ anyway? Here we are worrying about the opinions of a ‘they’ we don’t even know. Anyway, let’s get back to the topic, my dear, shall we?
There is nothing more unattractive than a mean person. Have you ever walked into an office and had to deal with a mean person? No matter how well-put-together they look, the whole outfit is swallowed up by their meanness. For instance, there are people who, as soon as they become the CEO of a company, think they have to be mean to look the part. They barely smile because they are important now. They make it seem as if being kind to others and keeping a smile on their face will take away their power or the position they hold. They try to gain others’ respect by being mean. They look down at the janitor and can’t even greet anyone at the door, and then later on, they wonder why God removed them from the position. The truth is, respect comes from self-respect, which is the respect you show to yourself, expressed in your core values. I don’t have to lose my inner joy and peace to be respected by others. I just have to know what I’m willing to accept and what I’m not willing to tolerate, and all can be done in kindness. It is important to understand that keeping a smile on your face is the right attitude. It keeps you joyful, enhances your power, and makes you more compassionate to your surroundings, especially in your home. If you want to make your work environment and your home a happy and safe haven, it has to start with you because you have to model what you want to see.
We do not smile because we think we are better than everybody else, and we don’t smile because everything is alright; that would be a lie. However, we do smile because we are representing a Kingdom that cannot be defeated, and that is the Kingdom of the Most High God. In the presence of the King, there is fullness of joy, and the King wants a duplicate of what’s going on in heaven, here on earth. Dr. David Jeremiah quoted a summary of a theological perspective articulated by Jeremiah Burroughs, which says, “God is the only Source of real happiness. He does not need anything or anyone to make Him happy. Even before He made the world, the Three Persons of the Trinity were completely happy with each other. What God does for Christians is to make them as happy as He is.”
Therefore, when we are sent to a room, we are sent to change the atmosphere and cast out the spirit of heaviness from our loved ones, friends, extended family, coworkers, strangers, etc. Your smile has the power to turn your atmosphere into a safe place, which means that God has given you the power to make the world a better place.
Use Your Power and Change the World!
SCRIPTURES
“I am coming to You now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of My joy within them.” John 17:13
“The righteous will never be uprooted, but the wicked will not remain in the land.” Proverbs 10:30
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