A Cheerful Heart

Have you considered that cheerfulness is a very important character trait that God would like you to develop?

Presented by Lyle Welty
Cincinnati, Ohio - July 5, 2008 (47 minutes)

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Sermon Transcript

Many people are owners of antiques. We're not talking about mates here. Antique furniture, probably some of you have some in your own home. Antique cars, that's of particular interest to a lot of people.

In my case, I have a book that's old enough to be an antique of sorts. The copyright on this book is 1909. Now that's ninety-nine years ago; almost a hundred years. I bought it at a Goodwill Store in Dayton, Ohio in 1968 and I paid fifty cents for it; and that's probably about what I would get for it if I tried to sell it today. And yet, to me, it's very valuable. Now, this is what it looks like. You probably can't see the title of it. The title is Character Lessons: An American Biography for Public Schools and Home Instruction. So, it's character lessons for public schools and home instruction. The book is, this is interesting, the book is issued by the Character Development League chartered, it says, under the laws of Congress. It probably wouldn't happen today, but it did in 1909.

The introduction talks about teaching children to achieve the highest ethical standards based on self-control and what they call self-giving. It quotes a Dr. Andrew D. White of Cornell University who said, "The great thing needed to be taught in this country is truth; simple ethics, the distinction between right and wrong."

Now the book contains thirty-two lessons, character lessons. Each lesson highlights a particular character trait. I won't read the entire listing of them but I'll give you a sample of some of the lessons that are in this book.

Lesson number one is obedience; then honesty, unselfishness, consecration to duty, perseverance, purity, courage, hopefulness, and the list goes on and on. Each lesson includes a definition, and then an explanation, biographical examples; in other words, people who practice these things, application, quotations, and recommended literature to read.

I found it interesting that one of the character traits covered in these lessons is amiability. Amiability, or we would say, cheerfulness. Do you think of cheerfulness as a character trait? And if you do, do you consider it a very important character trait?

Here's the definition of amiability from the lesson. "Amiability is being agreeable and cheerful under all circumstances." It's being agreeable and cheerful under all circumstances or we could say - it goes on, actually, to say: "An evenness of temper. It's a great blessing in every condition of life." This is true. "Lasting cheerfulness that meets all the events bravely and is not cast down even before the greatest difficulties." That sounds like a pretty tall order to maintain cheerfulness in spite of whatever life may bring.

It's certainly natural for human beings to try to be cheerful. I think we try to, and we do when things go well. We always try to do that; and some people's temperaments, of course seem to make it a little bit easier. They seem more cheerful by nature. Often we refer to these people who are cheerful as having a "sunny" disposition; but it's something all together different, of course, when we think of cheerfulness as a duty of life. A duty of life, or a character trait, something a person works on very deliberately to cultivate into their character; that they develop it over time. Here's a quote that captures that idea. "Cheerfulness in most people is the rich and satisfying result of strenuous discipline." Serious mental discipline, it involves work, requires ongoing effort.

The recommended literature, this was interesting in this book, for the lesson on cheerfulness includes: Psalm 100 and also portions of the Sermon on the Mount. What I'd like to do instead of reading those sections is in today's sermon would be to take a look at the Proverbs; verses that relate directly to this subject of character trait of cheerfulness because the Bible says quite a bit regarding this. The book of Proverbs uses the term, "merry heart," or "cheerful heart", or a "happy heart" to describe this quality of cheerfulness.

Two weeks ago, Mr. Dave Evans gave a helpful Bible study on the book of Proverbs, and I hope you enjoyed that, benefited from it. He mentioned Proverbs 1:7 which says,

Proverbs 1:7 - The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge .... You see, that was a pivotal verse in the book of Proverbs. In fact you may have noticed that Mr. Kilough referred to Psalm 1:7 in the ABC presentation we just saw as well. A pivotal verse, and I also believe that the concept of the fear of the Lord is an important one for us to emphasize because it teaches us that Proverbs are more than just keys for successful living; although they certainly are keys to successful living.

The proverbs go far beyond that about how to get the best out of life. Goes beyond that because they instruct us in very practical ways how to submit our lives to God's will; and how to put God at the center of our lives; and how to go about living in the world that He's created.

So as we look today at a few of the proverbs that are recorded, they teach us specifically about cheerfulness. I hope we'll consider the instruction that we cover from the scriptures in the light of the fact that God says this is His will. This is what He would like us to inculcate and to develop.

Let's begin by turning to Proverbs 15:15. We'll notice a contrast in this verse explaining the difference it makes when we have a positive attitude; or a positive approach toward life.

Proverbs 15:15 - It says, All the days of the afflicted ..., now this means afflicted inwardly; when in an unhappy or troubled frame of mind or attitude. All the days of the afflicted are evil, but he who is of a merry heart has a continual feast. Now a feast is a time of happiness; so a continual feast is a way of saying that it's an enjoyable and satisfying life. One commentary sums up the meaning of this proverb this way by saying: "Our disposition rather than our circumstances is the key to enjoying life. Our disposition rather than our circumstances is the key to enjoying life."

Our Modern Language Bible translates verse 15 this way: Every day is a terrible day for a miserable person, but a cheerful heart has a continual feast. It's obvious that all of us find it easier to be cheerful when things are going the way we want them to; but the reverse is also true. Life can be more difficult when our circumstances are unpleasant, and things are not going the way we'd like them to. But either way, the advice God is giving us here in the book of Proverbs is that we should generally, throughout life, with its normal ups and downs, determine to have a cheerful frame of mind; a positive, optimistic outlook on life. The proverb calls it a "merry heart."

Here's a quotation that fits in well with this proverb: "A cloudy day is no match for a sunny disposition." It's important though, to understand that the Bible does tell us that there are times when we should not be, when it's actually inappropriate or out of place to have a merry heart. For example, the book of Ecclesiastes mentions clearly, "There's a time to weep." And so "there's a time to laugh, but there's a time to mourn," it says, as well as "a time to dance."

During times of terrible difficulties, suffering, a time of tragedy or death obviously would not be a time to be cheerful; especially, in a sense in a way like having levity. In this regard, let's go to Proverbs 25:20. It tells us here there are times when it's inappropriate, I think we can understand the concept. Here's a tangible example. A time when it's inappropriate to be cheerful. A time when it's actually hurtful or insensitive to others when we sort of force our cheerfulness on other people; people who are suffering, people who are experiencing severe difficulties. We need to know when to and when not to be exerting our cheerfulness.

Proverbs 25:20 - It says, "Like one who takes away a garment in cold weather, and like vinegar on soda, is one who sings songs to a heavy heart." Here's misguided or unwise effort to try to cheer up another person. If we take away someone's coat or jacket on a cold day, that person gets colder. It makes the situation he's already in worse. Pour vinegar on baking soda, you get a reaction. There's a chemical reaction almost instantaneously; bubbling and fizzing. In this case of singing songs to a merry heart there's a reaction that occurs, but not a good one. More hurt is added to the already hurting person.

The Bible tells us instead that we should be mourning with those who are mourning. But going back to the original proverb that says, "He who is of a merry heart has a continual feast." We can understand that it's good advice and a good habit, or pattern for us to get into, for the average days of our lives, day in and day out. The average days often include challenges, difficulties, so over the course of our lives a "merry heart" should be our ideal as a Christian.

It might be good at this point to clarify what we mean by cheerfulness. We're not talking about being foolish or silly, or having a frivolous approach toward life. We're not talking about something that's artificial. We're not talking about hiding our true feelings; especially from those who are close to us, our family, our best friends. But cheerfulness has to do with coping; coping with life. Dealing with life and its circumstances; but doing so in a pleasant and positive and a constructive and optimistic way.

Abraham Lincoln made a statement that has become quite well known and it introduces the topic, the important element on this subject of cheerfulness. He said, "Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." We could modify that just a bit to say the same point that most folks are about as happy, as cheerful, as they make up their minds to be.

Cheerfulness involves making a choice. It's a decision about how we're going to deal with life; especially when we're experiencing difficulties and set-backs, or challenges. Making a decision to be cheerful and practicing cheerfulness as a way of life would be the opposite of brooding, or sullenness, or being irritable, or being discontented, or complaining and grumbling. Of course, we all get discouraged at times. We all have our ups and downs. That's just part of being human. That's to be expected. That's why cheerfulness is a trait that has to be cultivated and developed and practiced.

In the case of a Christian, the choice or decision to be cheerful is a decision based on things we know; things we believe to be true. Things like the fact that God promises to be with us; that God promises to help us; that God promises that He causes all things to work together for good. Our cheerfulness then is a decision; it's a choice, based on all the promises God has given us. This elevates this character trait to a much higher level than just being cheerful. We understand why as well as how.

Here's a saying: "Happiness is a form of courage. Happiness is a form of courage." Now that might not seem relevant on the surface, but I think as we begin to look at it more closely we'll see there's a lot of truth to that. In fact, a very important point. "Happiness is a form of courage." In essence, that's saying that cheerfulness is also a form of courage. The fact that cheerfulness often requires a decision, mental discipline on our part; and it alludes to the fact that this requires courage; there's a relationship between cheerfulness and courage.

I'd like to talk to you about an example of this. I think many times an example makes the point much more meaningful. The example I'd like to refer to is of a twelve year old boy, whose name was Nick Santonastasso, typical English name. He was recently interviewed by Ann Curry on the "Today" show. The video showed a smiling, happy, energetic young boy. What makes him particularly unusual, though, is that he has no legs. He has no right arm; and the hand on his left arm has only one finger.

I'd like to read from the article about Nick. It's titled, "Limbless Twelve Year Old Boy Says: I Know Anything's Possible." Here's the article. "Nick Santonastasso has one arm equipped with one finger. That's it....He has no legs. He also has no limitations.

"'I know anything's possible,' the remarkable 12-year-old told "Today's" Ann Curry....

"Videos of Nick playing baseball and football, doing a headstand on his skateboard, playing the keyboard and drums, typing on a computer, helping in the kitchen (and) playing video games with his siblings were proof he's right.

"'My parents just keep (telling me and) encouraging me to do stuff — like, don't give up and keep trying. If you fall down, get back up,' he said in explaining why he attacks life with such gusto.

"(When) Nick's mother Stacey was pregnant with him (when) doctors told her that he (the baby) would be born "fragile." He was diagnosed with Hanhart Syndrome Type II, a rare genetic disorder identified in only 11 other people."

The parents, "who live in New Jersey, had three other children, and they resolved to treat Nick the same as all their other children, with love but without excuses.

"'We didn't treat him any different than any of our other children,' said his father Michael. Even so, he's impressed with just how normal his son is. 'We're supposed to be heroes to our children, but Nick is a hero to us. He's proved to be a real trouper, and (he's) our hero.'

"Curry observed that most parents try to protect their kids from failure, but" his parents "didn't do that with Nick.

"'Absolutely not,'" his mother "....said. 'If you do have a small failure, it just makes you stronger and want to accomplish more."

Nick added, "'It builds self-confidence in yourself to keep trying; and you'll be happy and succeed and not fail.'

"At an early age, his parents had him fitted with prosthetic legs and a prosthetic right arm, but Nick threw them away, finding they limited his mobility instead of enhancing it. He's mainstreamed at school and gets good grades. His only concession to his lack of limbs is to ride a wheelchair between classes in school. But at home, he scampers around the house using just his arm.

"'With just his one finger, he can pick up a penny,' his mother reported, something she can't do herself. He writes and draws with a pen tucked between his stump and his chin.

"Nick recently entered a drawing in a statewide contest in New Jersey on the theme of family values. His entry was a tree with a spreading canopy and deep roots. Above the tree (were) the words, 'The roots of a family are ....," and then "below the ground, the roots spelled out the final word of the message: 'Love.'" So the message was, "the roots of a family are love."

"The poster won the contest, and Nick got (the opportunity) to meet New Jersey Governor .... The contest judges were unaware of Nick's physical condition. He won on merit, the same way he does everything else in life.

"'He has no boundaries,' said his mother. 'He's just a happy kid. You want to be around him, because it's (he's) always fun.'" End of story.

Nick's described as being happy and fun to be around in spite of having, every day, a severe handicap. That's a good example, I think an outstanding example of cheerfulness growing out of courage. Let's go to Proverbs 18:14. This one applies to Nick. This is a proverb that shows us the power of a strong spirit; a strong attitude.

Proverbs 18:14 - It says, "The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness, but who can bear a broken spirit?" Soncino Commentary adds this note: "Willpower and determination can counterbalance physical weakness and enable a man to win through."

I like the way the Amplified Bible translates verse 14. It says, "The strong spirit of a man sustains him in bodily pain and trouble, but a weak and broken spirit, who can raise up or bear?" It can also apply to this proverb to troubles in general as well or sickness.

The Proverbs refers to the spirit of a man, and that reminded me of Mr. Dave Johnson's sermon last week, in fact, where he highlighted "the spirit in man" and the things it makes possible for people.

We could find many, many stories like the one I found about Nick; people in the world who accomplish amazing things; and who maintain outstanding attitudes in spite of enormous obstacles. And they do this through the use of "the spirit in man" that they have within them. How much more, when we stop and think about it; how much more can and should we and can we accomplish as far as overcoming, as far as being cheerful, as far as overcoming and enduring because of the additional resource we have. We have another spirit in addition to the "spirit in man." We have God's holy spirit. When we read stories like Nick's, it encourages us to realize that there's a lot we can be doing, a lot more with God's spirit.

When we pray for our brethren who are sick or are suffering, typically we ask God to intervene to change and to improve their physical circumstances obviously according to God's will and that's fine and good. I think that's appropriate for us to do; but perhaps we should also remember to ask God to use His holy spirit to give the person courage, and hope, faith and peace; and to protect the person from having a broken spirit; to encourage them to have a cheerful spirit in spite of their obstacles.

Let's go next to Proverbs 15:13. It's another well known proverb about a cheerful attitude and outlook toward life. A number of these proverbs that God is certainly making a point to us that He appreciates and expects us to grow to the place where we are able to maintain a cheerful heart; a cheerful spirit.

Proverbs 15:13 - It says, " A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance, but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken." Another translation says, " Happiness makes a person smile, but sadness can break a person's spirit."

What's going on inside of us is reflected on the outside; on our faces, and in our body language. A courageous spirit or attitude shows up outwardly; it becomes obvious; a cheerful expression on our face. A merry heart helps us to cope with our circumstances.

What would it have been like; have you ever wondered? What would it have been like to have known and spent time personally with Jesus Christ? What kind of man was He like? Obviously there were times in His life, especially toward the end of His life, when He was weighed down, very serious. There were times when He was angry; but the living Word of God, God's own Son, I believe, set a general pattern of life of day in, day out, reflecting the words we've read today. God's thinking, God's mind. That He maintained a cheerful attitude. For the average days of His life I believe that He would have been cheerful, would have influenced others in that direction; a kind of courteous cheerfulness in spite of His circumstances. I'm sure we would have enjoyed His company. We would have enjoyed being around him and saw that we would be uplifted by being near Him; seeing His approach toward life.

For a Christian the godly characteristic and quality of cheerfulness goes hand in hand with other spiritual qualities like goodness, having a clear conscience, thankfulness, joy, faith, hope, and by the same token things like a guilty conscience, or fear, unresolved anger, complaining, would make it very difficult, if not impossible, to have a cheerful life and cheerful disposition.

How cheerful are you and I? What is our approach toward life? How much of our Christian character is reflected in being cheerful? And what does that say about our relationship with God?

To go to another point, let's go to Proverbs 17:22. This is really quite a fascinating proverb. The Bible tells us that our bodies are the temple of God's holy spirit. That God requires us to take care of our bodies; to preserve our health as best we can. He wants us to not defile, as He says, "The temple of the holy spirit." That gives added importance to the proverb we'll be reading next. Our emotions, our thoughts have a very real and direct and profound effect upon our health, for good or bad. Obviously that's not the only factor involved that affects our health, but the Bible highlights the fact that it's a very important one. It's a factor in our health. Notice Proverbs 17:22 -

Proverbs 17:22 - A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones. A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones. There's certain attitudes and emotions that God actually forbids; that a Christian should not have. Things like worry and fear and bitterness, just to mention three. And part of the reason that these are forbidden is because they have an adverse effect on our bodies. They tear down our health. But that's only part of the reason.

Scientific evidence certainly supports this proverb. It's very easy to find all kinds of information and studies that demonstrate the damaging effects on our health of negative emotions. Studies show that headaches, muscle pain, lowered immune system problems, colds, flus, allergies, digestive problems, and even some more serious health problems than those can be affected by our emotions. I've even read reports that say and show that people have more tooth decay when they're under heavy stress. So certainly our attitude, our moods, our emotions have quite an impact. But please don't misunderstand, I'm not saying that negative emotions are the only cause, or even the primary cause for illness or these serious illnesses. I'm only saying that our emotions play a role, a part in our over all health.

It's fascinating to read some of the information about the physical benefits of positive emotions. Take for example, laughter; just laughter, laughter can be a strong painkiller. It can enhance respiration; also stimulate breathing, produces the morphine-like molecules called endorphins, increases the number of disease fighting immune cells in our systems; reduces stress, stimulates the internal organs and improves circulation of the blood. Laughter pumps the heart and muscles of the abdomen, chest, shoulders, and neck. Some believe that a hundred laughs a day is equivalent to the physical benefits of riding a stationary bike for fifteen minutes. It will stimulate us all to read more jokes, won't it? (Laughter) Or perhaps a hundred laughs can do as much good as ten minutes on a rowing machine. A hundred laughs a day; a positive, cheerful attitude is now considered by the scientific community to be one of the pillars of good health; a positive, cheerful attitude.

When we consider the "how-to" aspect of developing this character trait of cheerfulness, laughter and humor obviously are one important way. Mark Twain gave a helpful observation when he once said that humor is the good-natured side of the truth. Humor is the good-natured side of the truth.

On a more serious note though, Abraham Lincoln, during the civil war wrote that when your... He said, "With the fearful strain that is on me night and day if I did not laugh, I should die." He's said to have always started his cabinet meetings with a joke. He was a very serious man, but he realized the importance of having some humor to help cope with his difficult circumstances. Once he was harassed by a heckler for being what was called, "two-faced."

Lincoln replied by saying, "If I'm two-faced would I be wearing this one?" He made a good point, didn't he?

Former president Dwight Eisenhower said, "Laughter can relieve tension, soothe the pain of disappointment, and strengthen the spirit for the formidable tasks that always lie ahead." Good perspective helps to relieve tension, pain, and disappointment; strengthen the spirit because there are going to be more challenges beyond this life as well. Quite a good perspective.

The kind of courageous cheerfulness that both presidents of the United States are referring to are talking; that's a real asset during difficult times; tough times; but like other character traits it will not be there in challenging times if we don't cultivate it on a daily basis. It's something that we have to work at day in and day out making it a part of our character.

Laughter and humor is only one way to practice cheerfulness. We also develop it by learning to smile; by saying something positive or hopeful instead of complaining or grumbling, by focusing our thoughts on God and His plan.

Another important way we can take this is by finding time for recreation and play. Making time, we not only individually benefit by making time for recreation and play, but it's very good for the family unit, for our children, for our mate. We not often benefit personally but we many times help the entire family by doing that.

Some of you may be familiar with the book titled, "Traits of a Healthy Family." It was written by Dolores Curran back in the 1980's. I believe much of the research is still of value today. Using extensive research, she lists in her book fifteen traits of a healthy family. In order of importance, trait number five (close to the top) is this: The healthy family has a sense of play and humor. Healthy families make ways, often at no financial cost, to put away, and put aside work and responsibilities to have fun together. A sense of humor in the family keeps things in perspective and works as an antidote to drudgery depression, and conflict within families.

The study showed that this quality of humor and play tended to be an either/or situation in families. In other words, families either had it; this fun and humor in their families or they did not. There wasn't much in between. The families that did have it, not surprisingly, were happier places to live.

The book mentioned that since families, by their very nature are forced to share troubles when they come should also learn to share pleasures; otherwise people begin to associate family with problems rather than enjoyable times. Healthy families tend to use humor to diffuse potentially stressful situations. Here's an example I imagine many of us can relate to: I'll read a short example.

"Healthy families tend to hang on to a quip or a saying that recalls an earlier humorous family episode. Spoken at the right time, it can relieve tensions that build up in families. Often these little remarks mean nothing to outsiders; they don't even make sense to them. But to the family, they are invaluable in maintaining family health, and equilibrium.

"For example, one family reported that several years earlier, one of their sons had punched his brother. Why?

"'Because he was thinking bad things about me. He was thinking bad things about me.' Didn't say anything; he was just thinking bad things. So I punched him."

Let's finish the story. Don't stop there, okay? "For years the family has benefited from this line. Whenever one family member is acting badly for no good reason, someone in the family will say, 'Well, who's thinking bad things about you now?' That little remark reminds the offender to shape up; to take responsibility for his or her bad mood. No lectures are necessary, and tension is easily released." End of that section.

The author of the book makes the point that parents who can laugh at themselves and their silly mistakes at the dinner table; for example, help their own children to be able to open up and say something like, "Well, you know, I felt so foolish at school today because of such and such that happened." It's also emphasized that good family humor does not include ridicule or hurtful sarcasm or things that embarrass family members. Those things were not allowed.

Humor is used constructively in healthy families to build relationships. "It's been said that," and I really like this line; "It's been said that laughter is the shortest distance between two people." That's good, isn't it? "Laughter is the shortest distance between two people." We make a connection when there's laughter.

Here's some ideas given for the purpose of creating a family fun environment. She recommends "watching funny movies together; posting cartoons on the refrigerator; writing down funny family stories; creating inside family jokes; sharing the silliest thing that happens each day."

Along these same lines, here's what a man named Scott Morton wrote about how you and your family can build a healthy, enjoyable home life. I think he makes some very good points. I want to read a section from his article. It's titled, "How You and Your Family Can Build a Healthy, Enjoyable Home Life."

He said, "I've discovered some scriptural passages that have opened my eyes to little things that make a positive difference in family relationships; one being the secret of merriment. The secret of merriment." He quoted one of the biblical proverbs about a merry heart and then went on to write, "Just before our daughters graduated from high school I asked them to write down three things their mother and I had done right as parents. I tried to anticipate what they would say. I was expecting answers like family prayer times, camping trips in the woods together, Dad's sermonettes, stuff like that."

"Okay," I said confidently. 'What's the first thing we did right?'

"'It's fun to live here,' said one daughter."

"'That's what I wrote down,' cried the other."

"I was stunned. They said nothing about a stable home, regular meal times, family vacations, or Dad's sermonettes. 'What do you mean, fun to live here?' I finally stammered.

"'We like living here. We enjoy bringing our friends. We like coming home each day from school,' they said.

"Amazing! I then reminded them there were many times when our home was not much fun. And times when it was just plain boring. They agreed, but said, 'Our family sense of humor over-ruled all the tearful encounters.' He said."

The author asked, "What does it take to develop a home with a sense of humor?" He described the one thing to avoid. What he called, "the parental grump cycle, the parental grump cycle." Every now and then, parents feel overworked and under appreciated, so we get grumpy. We throw our weight around by being moody or sullen. We even enjoy it. The trouble is this kind of mood will not go unnoticed. In fact, it will cast a pall over the entire household. After a dinner hour spent in courteous, but strained conversation, my daughter whispered to my wife as I was leaving the table. "What's wrong with Dad?"

Then the article gave two positive suggestions for creating this positive, cheerful environment for the family. The first was: "Make sure your work problems or other problems don't squelch your cheerfulness at home." In his case he'd prayed about his problems and concerns before he arrived home." He wrote this: "Next, he said, "I tried to imagine physically depositing my day's burdens outside the house. Our neighbors had a miniature plastic deer in the front yard as well as a birdbath and plastic flamingos. Not my taste in lawn ornaments, but great for dumping troubles. When I got home from work I mentally hang a bag of worries and concerns on the plastic deer's antlers; then I mentally pick them up the next morning on my way to work. They're always there. No one solved my problems overnight, but I was all there with my family," meaning undistracted.

His second suggestion is to establish a family fun night. He said, "Ours was usually Tuesday from seven to eight p. m. Of course we were too busy and too tired to have a family fun night, but we did it anyway until our kids entered high school. The only rule was that you could not go out. Family fun night had to be at home with television turned off. So, what do you do? Play a table game. How about Charades? Or drop a clothespin into a quart jar while standing on top of a chair or on top of the stairs? Keep score. The best family night we ever had was "Paper Sword Night." We rolled up and taped together three full-sized newspaper sheets into swords. Then we tied balloons to our belts in the back. Someone said the words, 'Commence jousting,' and each family member tried to pop the other's balloons with his or her paper sword. It was great fun. The whole family usually ganged up on Dad even after his balloons were popped.

"Here's another tip," he said. "Quit at a high point, not after everyone is tired. In family night while the kids are still saying, 'Oh, let's do it again, Dad.'"

The article went on to say, "Does your home have a sense of humor? Would you choose to live there if you didn't have to?" Okay, good question. "What one thing can you do to make your home a more enjoyable place to live?" These are good questions to consider. Let's go over these again. "Does your home have a sense of humor? Would you choose to live there if you didn't have to?" Interesting questions. "What one thing can you do to make your home a more enjoyable place to live?" He ended by saying, "A joyful heart is good medicine, especially at home." And that was the end of the article.

For a final scripture today, let's turn to Proverbs 15:30. Thinking about the quality of cheerfulness in the family, especially in the family context, I think it's a good reminder that cheerfulness is not just something we practice for our own benefit. It's not so that we feel better, but we practice cheerfulness to first of all honor God; to be like Him. Not just something we practice for our own benefit. We do it to honor God. We do it also to make other's lives more pleasant and to strengthen and encourage others. It's a form of outgoing concern.

Proverbs 15:30 says, "The light of the eyes rejoices the heart, and a good report makes the bones healthy." The "New International Version" translates it this way: A cheerful look..., meaning a cheerful look in someone else's face as they approach you. A cheerful look brings joy to the heart, and good news brings health to the bones.

One more quote, "Everyone must have felt that a cheerful friend is like a sunny day, which sheds its brightness all around and most of us can, if we choose, make the world either a palace or a prison." A palace or a prison. Brethren, I hope that we can cultivate this; that we can develop more fully this godly quality and character trait of having a merry heart.