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Don't Worry, Be Happy

The Rev. Thomas W. Simmons IV

How many of you have seen the Billy Bass singing-fish plaque? George and Henry think it's funny, but it doesn't take long before the thing gets pretty irritating.  You push a button and the fish starts singing a sunny little Jamaican-sounding ditty, "Don't worry, be happy."  So here we are getting self-help advice from a singing rubber fish. 

It's funny how this song has caught on in America.  I think it came out in the mid-90s and has now become a pop classic, immortalized by Billy Bass and proclaimed in pulpits across America - or at least in western Loudoun county!  The song must really resonate with people. 

I guess it's something we need to hear.  It's nice to have a cheerful little reminder not to take things so seriously, to just chill out.  "Don't worry, be happy."  I think the simplicity of this statement is refreshing in a culture piled high with psychobabble, where people endlessly wallow in and obsess about victimology, depression and dysfunction. 

It's a cute mantra, a catchy tune and a helpful attitude check, and I guess it's good as far as it goes, but it doesn't go very far, does it? It's kind of hollow isn't it?  It leaves some important questions unanswered.  Why should we not worry?  How can we be happy? 

That's what Paul talks about in our Epistle lesson.  Paul says basically the same thing as Billy Bass.  I'm sure Paul would be horrified at the comparison, but there it is. Paul says "rejoice in the Lord always, and…don't worry about anything." 

Paul is telling us how to feel.  This might strike Americans as a bit odd, because we tend to think that feelings are largely beyond our control.  They just "are" and we must give in to their demands and inclinations.  "I can't change the way I feel!" 

It seems Prozac, Ritalin and lithium are the only defenses for a lot of folks these days to help us feel better – or at least just take the edge off. But Paul assumes that we have a measure of control over these things and he wants to tell us how and why. 

First he tells us to be happy.  "Rejoice in the Lord always.  Again I will say, REJOICE!"   Which can be a challenge sometimes.  There are a lot of things out there to crush our buzz , kill our joy and make us sigh and feel depressed. 

But when I think of rejoicing, I think of my son George's delight in funny, silly little things.  The other day we were reading a Richard Scarry book and George was greatly amused when one of the characters exclaimed, "Ugh".  George threw back his head laughing every time I repeated it for the next five minutes.  Rejoicing is childlike joy and delight in the little things, the little gifts that God gives us that we often don’t notice in our anxious rush and efforts to control the world around us.

But I think rejoicing isn't just a personal feeling.  It's a corporate thing, too:  something that we should do together in Christian community. Paul wants it to be seen by all, as a public sort of thing.  Perhaps he’s thinking of the Roman citizens in Philippi who rejoiced in the glories of Caesar and Rome by celebrating public festivals with parades and banquets. These Romans enjoyed themselves in grand style and Paul urges Christians to do likewise. 

Christians shouldn't be so serious and proper and upright that we can't rejoice and party and have a great time together. We truly have something to rejoice in and celebrate.  Just ask Billy Bass.  Let's proclaim it and rejoice for all to see.    That’s the most compelling way to witness to Jesus, by rejoicing in him. That's what our Gospel lesson is about this morning.  Jesus is Lord and he invites everyone near and far to join the party. 

Next, Paul tells us to stop worrying. "Do not worry about anything."  Most of us are pretty good at worrying.  Some have perfected it to a fine art.  There is much to worry about, because we live in a perilous and unpredictable world. 

This past week I was struck by a line in President Bush's speech.  He declared, "We refuse to live in fear".  We can affirm that as Americans because of the strength of our armed forces and national institutions and the resilience of our culture.  I’m grateful for the strength and security of our country. 

But there is more to fear than just snipers, terrorists and tyrants with weapons of mass destruction.  There are many threats to our health, our financial wellbeing and relationships, our children and reputation and our general happiness.  And we can't call in an air strike against these worries or solve them with a team of commandos.                

The weapon Paul uses against worry is prayer.  Lift your eyes from your anxiety and offer your fear to God.  Praise him.  Thank him.  Make your request known to him.  He’s waiting to hear from you.  You see God is at work in the world, in great things and small.  He is intimately involved in your life, too. And he is in control.

The problem is, though we give lip service to this fact, we often live as though it weren't true. We are "practical atheists" in many compartments of our lives.  "We believe in God the Father Almighty," but we often forget that when we struggle with the practical issues, anxieties and pressures of life. 

We tend to assume we are in control and that it all depends on us, which leaves us biting our nails with worry.  Prayer not only calls on the power of Father Almighty for the things we pray for.  It also acknowledges that God is God, and I am not.  And that’s so important to our mental, spiritual and relational health.  

The result is that God's peace will guard your heart and mind. I say it to you every Sunday.  “The peace of God, which passes understanding, guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus our Lord.”   I like the image of a guard for my heart and mind. I think of the Secret Service guarding the President.  That makes me feel safe.  It lets me let go.  God’s got my back. 

So, there’s Billy Bass and the Apostle Paul: “Don't worry, be happy.”  David is talking about the same thing in Psalm 23. “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me.  You spread a table before me in the presence of those who trouble me; you have anointed my head with oil and my cup is running over.” 

The last thing Paul tells us is how to think.  He says, “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable…think about these things.” 

What fills your mind shapes your life.  As a man thinks, so shall he be.  The things you fear, the things you hate the things you are obsessed and controlled by all exercise their power in your thoughts. It is power that you give to them, by letting them crowd your thought life.  What evil, fearful, hateful, unworthy things have captured your mind and how are they driving you? 

Paul knows that in order to rejoice and be free of worry, in order to love, trust, pray and give thanks to God you must learn to guide the currents of your thought life. You must get rid of the garbage, the anger, the pornography, the arrogance, the self-loathing, the mockery, the rage of our thoughts and replace these – one battle at a time - with “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable…”

That’s what building Christians for service is all about.  It is a process of personal transformation in the way we think and view others, the world, and ourselves. Paul says,  "I can do all things through him who strengthens me." 

When Paul tells us to rejoice, not worry and think about good things, this is how we can do it. Two week ago Paul said, "God is at work in you, enabling you to both will and work for his good pleasure." 

Let God work in you and transform you.  Give yourself to him in prayer, entrusting your worries to him, giving your thought life to him and allow him to strengthen and enable you fulfill his good pleasure.  AMEN