I heard that Billy Joel song the other day, Only the Good Die Young. His line is interesting: “I’d rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints.” Because, you see, being a “saint” – a “good person” – is a sad and miserable thing, right?
Well, I suppose it would be easy to make such a mistake. How many of the religious folk you know are sober, dour, doleful, and probably a host of other synonyms for the idea of unhappy? They never seem to have fun, and if they do have fun it’s either “fun” pointing righteously indignant fingers at others having fun or in secret indulgences of things they are pointing fingers at others for doing. Seriously, this idea of the unhappy saint is something that unhappy saints have brought about.
What is most startling, perhaps, is the fact that it collides with Scripture. Think, for instance, how many times you see the word “blessed”. We would use it to express that someone is fortunate, favored, or happy. It’s a good thing. Or consider the fruit of the Spirit. Number 2 on the list is “joy”. Joy is a state of delight, pleasure, gaiety, happiness. Now, of course, we can quibble over words – that perhaps “joy” and “happy” are different – but no one can say that they are not related. And joy is not merely a fruit; it is a command. In his epistle to the church at Philippi Paul writes, “My brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you” (Phil 3:1). He goes on to say, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice” (Phil 4:4). You have to admit, a repeated message is an emphasized message ... and this one is repeated repeatedly. We are commanded to be joyful and commended for contentedness.
So … why is it that Billy Joel and most of the rest of the world tends to think of saints as crying? Why do believers, those of us carrying around the Good News, come across too often as unhappy folk? Why are we not marked by the joy of the Lord? That, if you recall, was what Nehemiah considered our strength!
I’d like to submit that if you are not joyful, if you are among the “crying saints”, if you are not marked by the joy of the Lord, you’re missing out. You are failing to get it. Your “good news” isn’t so good. I think it’s something I need to visit myself more often – the concept of finding my full satisfaction in the glory of God. Seriously, what more joy could there be than being a saint, a “set-apart” one, chosen by God, redeemed, in Christ, filled with the Spirit – oh, I’m sure you can fill in more – what better place can you be? And if “the pursuit of happiness” is indeed a divine right, what more happiness can there be than being in Christ? So ... what does my life reflect? I’d rather laugh with the saints.
4 comments:
I think this attitude is indicative of the notion that spiritual things are foreign to Natural Man. They're so busy with self-gratification that they can't see the joy in sainthood. All they know is that much of what gratifies them is sinful behavior in which saints won't participate, so how can the saintly life be "fun"? Of course, one seeking to be right with God can still do all sorts of "fun" things that aren't sinful in nature.
I'm quite sure that's true, although I'm equally sure that genuine, born-again saints also buy the notion that "fun" and "sinful behavior" are inextricably linked. Or, to put it another way, while I'm sure that Natural Man doesn't get how godliness and joy go together, some of the reason he doesn't get it is because Regenerate Man isn't showing it.
Yeah, I can see that. I guess it's just a matter of which Regenerate Man a Natural Man gets to see. I recall when I was more of a CINO than I am now. I'd see some that were more devout than me that were just happy as pigs in poop. I couldn't understand it. They didn't do any of the fun things I did, some of which were plainly sinful (and I knew it) and others not so much. But they were always smiley and saying "funny" things that weren't funny. Then, of course, I'd see the stuffy, reserved ones that NEVER seemed to smile. In hindsight, I think the stuffy ones may have been pissed that they couldn't enjoy the sinful acts that others were enjoying and they resented it.
But then they would call us fakes because you know that everyone knows that to be happy you have to do what Billy Joel does; or at least desire it because most of us don't have the resources at our disposal that he has.
And Ha, like we've never seen a sad sinner. You see... that's what you get when you not only see the world through the eyes of the caricaturist, but you then believe what you see.
Post a Comment