I hate confrontation; hate it with the white hot passion of a thousand suns.\u00a0 I realize that confrontation is necessary at times, but I feel like running far away or crawling in a hole every time I have to be part of it. It sucks the life out of me.\u00a0 I don’t know why.\u00a0 It’s always been that way.\u00a0 For as long as I can remember, I have always been the one in a group that senses when things are getting tense and then tries to find something funny to say to cut that tension.<\/p>\n
I like to keep things loose.\u00a0 I try not to take myself too seriously.\u00a0 I LOVE making people laugh.\u00a0 There’s something about being a person of joy that sits well with me and allows me to connect well with others.\u00a0 That isn’t to say I always hit the mark or that I don’t have moments of seriousness.\u00a0 I do.\u00a0 Everyone does.\u00a0 What I am saying is that I think being a laid back bringer of joy is my default life position.\u00a0 When I’m being that guy, I feel most like myself.<\/p>\n
In the fourth chapter of Philippians, the Apostle Paul, from a first century prison, wrote this:<\/p>\n
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice!”<\/em><\/p>\n How could someone confined to (what I can only assume were) terrible prison conditions, advocate joy? He had no way of knowing if he would ever be released or would instead be put to death for preaching about Jesus.\u00a0 I think the answer lies in the fact that Paul KNEW his prison cell or eventual death would not be the end of his story.\u00a0 Paul radiated with the confidence of someone who KNEW the Good News was true.\u00a0 He wasn’t just going through the motions, figuring his Lord would magically release him from the suffering and persecution he had to endure here on earth.\u00a0 Paul KNEW he would see Jesus again, and that fueled his joy.<\/p>\n You see, joy and happiness are different.\u00a0 No one really chooses happiness.\u00a0 It happens to us, randomly, out of our control.\u00a0 Happiness is temporary.\u00a0 It’s a great feeling, but it’s fleeting.\u00a0 It can easily and quickly be replaced with fear, loneliness, anger, etc.\u00a0 I’m sure Paul wasn’t happy in prison.\u00a0 You and I wouldn’t be.\u00a0 He was filled with joy, though; joy in the Lord.\u00a0 Joy, in my view, is a choice one can make.\u00a0 Choosing joy is choosing to reorient your life towards Christ.\u00a0 It’s choosing to see the world through Christ’s eyes, through eyes that know that the Cross isn’t the end; eyes that know that Easter is coming, eyes that can see beyond this world into the next one, where eternal life with God awaits.\u00a0 Also, again in my view, seeking happiness means we are focusing on what is happening TO us.\u00a0 Choosing to be joyful means we are less concerned with ourselves and more focused on others, which nicely sets us up to be effective evangelists.<\/p>\n So, I choose joy.\u00a0 I not saying you will always see evidence of that.\u00a0 There is very little joy in our house, for instance, when I’m trying to get the kids ready for school in the morning.\u00a0 That version of me doesn’t write these articles.\u00a0 That’s a good thing.\u00a0 What my choosing joy means is that I know that I am most at peace and best fulfilling my vocation as a Christian when I purposefully center myself in the joy of Christ and intentionally work to share that joy with others.<\/p>\n How about you?\u00a0 Do you approach your Christian life with joy?\u00a0 Maybe that’s something we can all take to prayer this week.<\/p>\n -Shannon<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I hate confrontation; hate it with the white hot passion of a thousand suns.\u00a0 I realize that confrontation is necessary at times, but I feel like running far away or crawling in a hole every time I have to be part of it. It sucks the life out of me.\u00a0 I don’t know why.\u00a0 It’s…<\/p>\n