The Most Difficult Command

The Greek word rendered as blessed in the beatitudes is makarios (μακάριος). As you might expect, it can mean fortunate. But it also means happy. Blessed are they that mourn (Matt. 5:4) could have been translated as: Happy are they that mourn.

How can you be happy while mourning? That’s a good question. We can be sure that the common picture of joy as wild-eyed bliss isn't what is meant here. But something, some manner of happiness, is indeed intended to be conveyed by the word blessed.

Let's look at some well-known verses:

Happy are the people who are in such a state;  Happy are the people whose God is the Lord! (Ps. 41:5, NKJV ¹) 

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! (Phil. 4:4)

When Paul, in Galatians 1:8-9, warns Galatians (and by extension, us) about deceivers preaching a false gospel, he raises the warning to a higher DefCon level through the contemporary practice of emphasis by repetition. Similarly in Phil. 4:4,  Paul tells us to be joyful. Twice. He means it. He is serious. He has pretty much reached the "don't you make me tell you again!" point. And note that it is an active not a passive call. It is in fact a command, an imperative, a moral obligation. The onus is on the believer to be joyful. When? Always. Even when mourning. And if it is a command (and it is) then when we are not joyful (and this isn’t going to help!) we are in disobedience. We are sinning.

The Westminster Shorter Catechism nails it, in its first question:

Q. 1. What is the chief end of man? 

A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.

Here man’s primary purpose is given, and at least according to this catechism, it’s one part glorifying God and one part enjoying God. 

We are to enjoy God. We are not to wait to be made joyful in God by others. I really don't like this command. 

I don’t think that we are taught enough that enjoying God is as important as glorifying God. I think we are properly taught about the glorifying part, but the joyful part is often merely paid lip service.

The believer must be joyful, always. That is a very hard teaching.  If you are not joyful, you are sinning. These days I’m sinning, fiercely, in my moroseness and discontentment.

I would settle, at the moment, to be be joyful sometimes, but always?? On this side of eternity? Sigh. I guess it's a goal.

How does one make oneself joyful? I don’t know. I know the platitudinous answer. It is found right there in Phil. 4.4. Be joyful in the Lord.  I could go on and on regarding the indisputable truth that the correct focus of our joy will indeed precipitate our joy, but you already know this. To me, it amounts to one of those “easier said than done” lessons.

While the believer is commanded to be joyous, that doesn't absolve the church from its responsibility to assist the believer in his requirement of righteous happiness. While none of us is interested (I hope) in a shallow church that ignores doctrine and billows happy-smoke from the pulpit, it is probably also wise to examine whether we are being called, constantly, to examine whether or not we are falling short of somebody's Christian ideal.  Occasionally we need to lighten up a bit. Simple things can help. Even wording with a positive spin. "Let's pray more, I promise it will increase your joy!" is so much better than "forgive us O Lord, for we don't pray enough."

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¹ To emphasize that blessed and happy are biblical synonyms, we note that both the ESV and NABS translate this Ps. 41:5 using Blessed rather than Happy.