Stuff
to be happy about
There is an unspoken rule floating around in the universe that says that grumpiness and holiness go hand in hand. There is a belief that you shouldn’t get caught enjoying life too much. It might be a sign that you need some serious talking to by God Himself. Even in writing this, I confess, I fear some will take it to mean I’m promoting a lawless life of profligate wickedness. But before you level that charge, go back, and read what I wrote again. I’m talking about enjoying life and there is nothing that makes life more miserable than a life of wicked sinning.
The Gnostics of the first century believed that matter, the material world, which included our bodies, and everything associated with them was bad and only the spiritual, the unseen and non-physical world, was good. There were different ways they worked that out in practical living. One was monkishness, where a person divorced themselves from life in this world as much as possible, refusing to enjoy food and clothing and anything that might give comfort here in this world. They tended to reject God’s direct creation of the world and the idea of a resurrected physical body.
That spirit of Gnosticism is still with us today, even when it goes under a different name. Some believe that spirituality is measured by how sour and dour they are. They don’t believe that life here should be enjoyed. The physical body is just a vessel for the real person. The Psalmist differed. He credits God with food, wine, clothing, and oil that gives a man a little lift in life. These things “gladden the heart of man,” “make his face shine,” and “strengthen his heart.”
I believe that the reason the Psalmist could enjoy these things while also keeping them from dominating his life and becoming a master over him, was he saw them as God’s good gifts. He had joy in these things because he saw them as gifts from God. They always turned his eyes upward in gratitude. He wasn’t a pig slurping slop at the trough. He was a man, a son of God, receiving good gifts from his heavenly Father.
Things, in and of themselves, can’t make you happy. At least not for long. The reason so many people have lots of stuff, but no happiness is they don’t make the connection from their things back to God. They call themselves “blessed” and say they are “thankful;” but leave out by whom are they blessed and to whom are they thankful?
If your receive your bread and wine gifts from God you will be a grateful and, therefore, a joyful person. God gives us stuff – the bread and wine of this life – to gladden and strengthen our hearts and make our faces shine. He wants us to enjoy them for what they are: The good and perfect gifts sent down from the Father of Lights.
