Smile!

“I had not been sad in his presence before; so the king asked me, ‘Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill?’” Nehemiah 2:1-2

Several decades ago, an upbeat, red-headed orphan hit the Broadway stage singing, “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile,” but sometimes in the morning—and all throughout the day—we forget to keep ours on.

Though life has legitimate times for looks and feelings of concern and sorrow, quite often the grounds for our frowns are rather shaky.  Yes, the schedule is hectic, the boss is demanding, the kids are crazy, the employees are inept, and the person driving in front of us obviously needs his license revoked, but does any of that really justify our scowls?  Of all the people on the planet, Christ-followers have the most reason for upturned lips, and when people see us, they should see a smile—almost always.

Nehemiah’s cheerful countenance was such a constant in the royal court that when he was sad, even the king took notice. “I had not been sad in his presence before; so the king asked me, ‘Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill?  This can be nothing but sadness of the heart’”(Neh. 2:1-2).  Wow!  Day after day after day after day as Nehemiah went to work at the palace, pouring the king’s wine and tasting the drink to make sure it wasn’t poisoned  (how’s that for hazards of the job?!?), he had done so with a smile and with a cheerful expression and attitude. His relationship with the “Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love”(Neh. 1:5) was the reason for his cheer, and it took something really big and bad, not just the normal irritations and frustrations of life, to turn his gladness sad.

Don’t spend today not fully dressed.  The joy of Jesus should be on your face—not just down in your heart.

Smile!