Truth Without Breaking

“A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.” (Pr 15:13 AV)

The meaning here is simple.  He who has a merry heart encourages himself or others, or both, resulting in a cheerful countenance.  He who has sorrow of heart, breaks his own spirit and perhaps the spirit of others.  There are times when both a merry heart and a heart of sorrow are appropriate.  Who would think of attending a birthday celebration with a sorrowful heart?  Not the place for it.  Who would think of bringing a merry heart to a funeral?  Some may appreciate it.  Others would not understand it.  As an example, years back I co-officiated a relative’s funeral.  It is customary for the preacher(s) to stay with the body after the funeral service until it is interned at the gravesite.  After the family were dismissed, the other preacher and I were having a bit of a fellowship.  There was a family member having a particularly hard time apart from the parlor and it completely escaped our notice.  Not the most stellar of moments in my history of ministerial duties.  It was not the place for a merry heart.  But let me share a bit on the aspect of the heart of sorrow.  Without hope, the spirit becomes broken.  Without some joy, the spirit can become broken.

Years ago, I worked at a plant that made foam dinner plates as well as other food storage or dinnerware products.  It started out as a Mobil plastics plant.  By the time I left there to go full-time in the ministry, it has changes hands three times.  Those were not fun times.  At each juncture, assumptions on the part of the workforce as well as true news coming from the management worked to discourage the workforce.  When a company is sold, rarely do things get better for the worker.  There are lay-offs, adjusted benefits (always downwards), or modified policy that favors ownership.  To begin with, the reason a company is sold is that it isn’t making enough profit to satisfy the shareholders.  I remember when it was announced we were being sold.  All the hourly employees gathered in the main cafeteria to discuss who it was that bought us and what it meant.  The closer we got to the sale and the more information swirled (true or untrue), our motivation to do the best job possible shrunk.  All we heard was the bad news.  Stricter attendance policy.  Less time off.  Fewer health benefits, etc.  What they didn’t tell us was the new company was going to build a 100,000 square foot warehouse and distribution facility.  More growth and advancement opportunities.  We would have taken the news of less much better if we also knew that more was coming.

We live in a pessimistic world.  At least in the last few decades.  We are the generation that has grown up with the possibility of total annihilation.  We are the generation that ducked under desks to protect ourselves from nuclear destruction.  Think about that for a moment.  We had these drills in grade school.  No grade school child should have to think about impending death by a nuclear bomb.  We had been conditioned to think there is no hope.  We are the generation that is brainwashed into thinking global warming will end all human existence within our lifetime.  We are conditioned to think life is too short so we might as well enjoy ourselves no matter the consequences.  As we fill our pulpits with biblically-based messages, our near-past generation of pulpiteers stressed doom and gloom above all else.  I do believe the dispensation of grace will end like all others.  The vast majority of the world is, and will, reject the free gift of salvation in Christ and as a result, come under severe judgement of God.  We preach on the consequences of sin.  Which we should.  We preach rebuking messages.  Which we should.  But too much of one side and not enough of the other will break the spirit of those whom we are trying to encourage to build the work.