What the world needs now is . . .joy

Christmas is a season of joy. It is a time of reflection and a time of hope. But this Christmas will be unlike any other—at this stage, even families gathering together is in doubt.

After a year of such uncertainty, when I reflect on 2020, joy isn’t the first word that comes to mind. But one thing I have learned, is that joy is a state of mind, not circumstance. And that is where it differs from happiness—a word that is often used synonymously with joy.

A quick Google search on happiness provides plenty of tips and lists telling us to: be optimistic, follow your gut, own yourself, make enough money to cover your basic needs, treat your body like it deserves, stay close to friends and family, have deep and meaningful conversations, and smile.

All this implies that happiness is dependent on the state of your health, on doing things that make you feel good (but could harm or upset others), that work to earn an income (even basic) is easy to find, and the assumption that your family and friends are always going to be supportive and encouraging.

Joy is deeper. Where happiness comes and goes with circumstances, joy is a matter of contentment and delight, regardless of circumstance. Joy is more consistent and is cultivated internally. Joy comes when we make peace with who we are.

Whenever I meet the people that Opportunity International help, I am surprised at their joy. They are people living in poverty; and they are working their way out of it, with dignity, but, compared to you and me, they have very little in the way of physical assets. Theirs is a life of uncertainty. But their smiles come from a place deep within. They choose to find joy in the everyday, even when faced with inordinate challenges - they choose to focus on what the future could bring, not on what circumstances they are in now.

In his book Walking with God Through Pain and Suffering Tim Keller explores the first world’s approach to finding happiness through the “removal of any and all suffering”. But, as Keller points out, “no amount of money, power, and planning can prevent bereavement, dire illness, relationship betrayal, financial disaster, or a host of other troubles from entering your life. Human life is fatally fragile and subject to forces beyond our power to manage.” If nothing else, COVID-19 has highlighted that to us.

Yet modern life convinces us to set goals, with the inference that you will only find joy when your goals are achieved. But true joy comes through those countless everyday moments that happen on the journey, not just the achievement itself.

Opportunity’s goal is ending poverty. But we find joy every day knowing that, because of the generosity and compassion of everyday people like you, one more person can start their own business, one more family has food to eat, that their children are being educated, and that they have a healthier and safer community in which to live. Our joy comes from knowing that they are finding joy each day as they embark on their own journey out of poverty.

We will never succeed at removing all pain and suffering, and if our strategy for happiness is about getting and staying in the right set of circumstances, we will fail. Joy, on the other hand, does not require the circumstances to be right, but rather makes the most of every day.

I’m not sure what Carlos Santana had in mind when he sang, “If you carry joy in your heart, you can heal any moment”, but having joy in your heart creates a positivity that others want to engage with. We can all experienced the joy in giving. I sincerely hope that your giving allows you to carry joy in your heart.

I don’t think it’s an accident that joy is listed straight after love as a fruit of the spirit in Galatians 5:22–23: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

My hope is that we all find joy this Christmas, and that we continue to bring joy to others. It can be as easy as : www.opportunity.org.au/donate, or to send a direct message of Joy, Hope, Peace or Strength to someone you know, buy an Opportunity greeting card: https://www.opportunitycards.org.au/