"The robbed that smiles, steals something from the thief," observes the Duke of Venice in Othello, and how true of life this is. A blithe, happy, joyous disposition takes the sting out of many of our sorrows, it acts like a tonic on those with whom me come into contact and it is a principal ingredient in the composition of one's own health. During these dark, depressing days cheerfulness or joyfulness is a virtue all should cultivate. "Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God," exclaimed the Apostle Paul, when the crew and all the passengers thought that the ship, on which they had been drifting for many days, would be wrecked. And writing to the Philippians, from behind prison bars, Paul says: "Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice." And to the Corinthians he wrote: "As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing, I am filled with comfort, I overflow with joy in all our affliction." That is the spirit with which we are to meet the future.
That Christians should be cheerful is a duty which we owe to our fellow-men. Christianity fs not a dull, drab, colourless religion; it is a religion of joy, happiness, gaiety. And what a wonderfully buoyant effect cheerfulness has! It is infusing, inspiriting, unlifting. By being contented we sow benefits upon everyone whom We meet. An attitude of unhappiness, discontentedness, gloominess is ugly, mean, contempt tible. It is asin for Christians to go about pining and muling and mumping, no matter what the outward circumstances may be. A position of this nature injures others, discourages one's friends and increases the evil of any and every situation. At such a time as the present to be depressed is a definite disservice to one's country. We are to be light-hearted and gay, joyous and happy, with laughter in our hearts and kindness in our eyes. We are to play the man and thereby turn misfortunes into gains. D The birth of Jesus was a proclamation of joy: "Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy. which shall be to all peoples." Though called the "Man of Sorrows" Jesus never allowed grief to distort His soul, nor did He show the faintest shadow of dejection. He was always cheerful and helpful and strong. His first miracle contributed to the innocent pleasure of social intercourse—His presence at a wedding feast brought about a change like that from water to wine. The impression left by His preaching was pleasing; nor was His voice the voice of sorrow: "All bare Him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceedet out of His mouth." His gospel was "like unto a treasure hid in a field" He delighted in heal. ing the pain of the world. Instead of reflecting the depression of households, Jesus removed it. He spoke of a joy that was His own peculiar and characteristic possession, and promised entrance into His own joy as a supreme reward. His joy did not consist in the absence of pain or perplexity; He was sometimes "troubled in spirit" but He ever possessed the joy of complete confidence in a Divine plan and this joy He offers to all who follow Him. Christ shunned the moroseness of asceticism, and at the same time turned from the selfish happiness of the epicuream: "The son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister." The sheer joy of service filled His soul. The thought of the countless host who would obtain eternal rest through His death was the secret potion that sweetened His bitter cuv. For the joy set before Him He endured the cross. To do the will of God was better than food. It is here that we find the source of a cheerful, happy disposition—in the doing of God's will and in thinking about or serving others. When men are self-centred and live for themselves alone, the blows and uncertainties of life will make them sour, morose, surly; by linking their lives to the Divine purpose and living for others men overcome the temptations of self-gratification, self-interest and sentimentality and their lives become joyous, blithe, cheerful. Wherever they go they lighten anxieties, soften sorrows, revive hopes and diffuse encouragement.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.