"A smile is the welcome mat at the doorway of kindness."
-William A. Ward
"The best face-lift is a smile."
-Anonymous
"Smile! It make people wonder what you're up to!"
-Anonymous
"Smile and rest your wrinkles."
-Anonymous
"Most smiles are started by another smile."
-Frank A. Clark
-Proverbs 15:13 NLT
"A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance, But by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken."
-Proverbs 15:13 NKJV
Smiles are contagious. Have you ever noticed that? Smiles are also the product of merry hearts. There's just something about a smile that communicates joy, happiness, and encouragement.
I don't know about you but I sure am not a fan of people who are always complaining, always down on something or somebody, generally grumpy, and always negative. They are the folks who never see the glass half full. To them it's always half empty. When you greet them in the morning you certainly don't want to say something like, "How are things going?" It's even dangerous, some days, to say, "Have a good day." Unfortunately, these are the folks most of us would rather do without. Personally, I avoid them! I enjoy being around genuinely joyful people. They're the ones with the smiles. They're the encouragers of our days.
Having watched the merry hearts, I have come to the conclusion that they all have similar characteristics:
1. It's the simple things in life that make them happy. They don't care a whole lot about power, pleasures, property, possessions, and popularity. Wealthy Solomon, from his personal testimony, confirmed the meaninglessness of these things, "Anything I wanted, I took. I did not restrain myself from any joy. I even found great pleasure in hard work, an additional reward for all my labors. But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless" (Ecclesiastes 2:10-11).
2. They are content with the inner treasures of their hearts. Possessions are not high on their priority lists. Inside treasures are of much more value than outside treasures. Again Solomon's wisdom tells us, "Enjoy what you have rather than desire what you don't have" (Ecclesiastes 6:9a).
3. Laughter . . . they have lots of it. When Nehemiah and his folks were having a bummer of a time rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem he didn't allow his spirits to be broken. Instead he reminded himself and his team, " . . . the joy of the Lord is your strength" (Nehemiah 8:10b).
4. Usually this crew is not the richest, most beautiful, or most talented . . . just the happiest! Things don't impress them. They simply have been infected with an overdose of internal joy that the world can't give and the world can't take away. Long live their kind!
5. This is the day they live in, not yesterday or tomorrow, just today. "This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it" (Psalm 118:24). They don't dwell in the past and they don't worry about the future.
6. Grateful! In all things they have learned to give thanks . . . 1 Thessalonians 5:18.
7. Giving is a lifestyle. They can't out-give God but they sure enjoy trying.
8. Others first! This is a toughie for most people but not for those with merry hearts. Others are always thought of as better than themselves . . . Philippians 2:4.
9. A deep inner peace keeps them anchored to their faith. Why? Because they believe, "Don't worry about anything: instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-8).
10. They can't help but smile. What's inside comes out. They can't contain it and, most of the time, it's contagious.
Give me the laughers, smilers, encouragers, and merry hearts! If you want, you can run with the other crowd but, for your health's sake, I don't recommend it.
In his journal, a man named Solomon Huber, wrote these words:
"A smile costs nothing but creates much. It enriches those who receive without impoverishing those who give. It happens in a flash and the memory of it sometimes lasts forever. None are so rich they can get along without it and none are so poor but are richer for its benefits. It creates happiness in the home, fosters goodwill in a business, and is the countersign of friends. It is rest to the weary, daylight to the discouraged, sunshine to the sad, and nature's best antidote for trouble. Yet it cannot be bought, begged, borrowed, or stolen, for it is something that is no earthly good until it is given away. Nobody needs a smile so much as those who have none left to give."
Mr. Huber obviously knew the value of merry hearts and the smiles they produce. Let's start an epidemic.
Smile!
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