A Way of Life

JOY – Jesus, others, yourself; I’m sure everyone has heard that acrostic that has been around for a very long time. In fact, it is so old that we probably hear it and don’t give it any real thought anymore. For some reason, however, it was on my mind this morning, and it occurred to me that those three words encapsulate a worldview, a whole way of life. The idea, of course, is that living that way of life is the path to true and lasting joy.

The acrostic would mean nothing to the unbeliever, but the truth is, I haven’t spoken with any avowed atheists since I left the University of Georgia. There aren’t too many of them here in the rural South. Most everyone around here at least gives lip service to a belief in Jesus as Lord and Savior. Unfortunately, what we do have a lot of are people who acknowledge Jesus verbally but live as if He doesn’t exist. At least there is nothing in their lifestyle that would reflect such a belief. Ask them if they are a Christian, and they will tell you yes, cause that’s what they were taught to believe from the time they were crawling on all fours. But then you watch the choices they make from day to day, and it’s clear they aren’t asking themselves what Jesus would do.

Many people, however, and I put myself in this category, really do try our best to live a life pleasing to God. Our faith informs our decisions, and so we are decent, moral people. It’s just that we get distracted and forget to keep Jesus the major focus in our lives. So many things in the visible, material world demand our attention that we can too easily neglect the unseen, spiritual world. I let this happen way too often. The daily routine of life takes over, the trivial becomes urgent, and the truly important things get put off until a more convenient time.

Because we are all prone to the sin of selfishness, we tend to get that JOY thing out of order. I would much rather paint a picture than go clean my mother’s kitchen. I have to make myself trudge up the hill to her house to clean up her mess. But I won’t always have her with me. If I can’t look back years from now and see that I was there for her when she needed me, I can never be truly happy. Besides, the love and appreciation she gives me makes it all worthwhile.

There are some people, and we probably all know one or two, who knowingly and deliberately choose to put self before all else. These are the people who always do exactly what they want to do, when they want to do it - regardless of the effect it has on others. They no doubt believe that doing so will make them happy – and it will momentarily. The problem is they never recognize how they push people away, denying themselves the love and respect that would bring them the greatest joy life has to offer. They miss out on the joy that comes from helping those in need and knowing that they bring love and happiness to the lives of those around them. They may never know the sheer pleasure that comes from seeing someone’s face light up because they met that person’s deepest needs.

The key, I think, is to remember that that which brings us momentary pleasure is not what gives us lasting joy. That little acrostic turns out to be rather profound.