How to Joyfully Live a Wise Life
Six proverbs about joy.
Joy is more than just happiness.
Happiness is usually connected to external circumstances. When things are going well, we are happy. When things aren’t going so well, we begin to feel sad.
Joy is more about rejoicing (Philippians 4:4) and being glad, regardless of what you face. It’s more about who you are. As Christians, our identity is found in Christ Jesus (Acts 11:26), and nothing that happens to us in this world can take that away.
It’s interesting to consider how Solomon discussed living a joyful life that embraces wisdom.
Those who promote peace and truth have joy.
Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, but counselors of peace have joy. (Proverbs 12:20)
Deceit means lying. It also carries the idea of bitterness and sorrow. Bitterness and sorrow are expressed through deception by those who plot evil.
A joyful individual is a person who is truthful and cares about peace.
Sometimes no one will understand our joy.
The heart knows its own bitterness, and a stranger does not share its joy. (Proverbs 14:10)
This proverb reminds us that sometimes bitterness and joy are not understood by others.
It isn’t easy to understand why an individual might be so bitter. It also may be difficult for some people to understand the joy of a Christian.
How a Christian can always rejoice in Christ, even during difficult times, is something that non-Christians will struggle to understand.
Finding joy in the wrong things shows a failure to make good choices.
Folly is joy to him who is destitute of discernment, but a man of understanding walks uprightly. (Proverbs 15:21)
The individual who lacks “good sense” (NET) will find joy in folly. However, a sensible individual follows the correct path and finds true joy.
Just because an individual experiences joy doesn’t mean they are on the right path. We must consider what gives us joy.
Our words can bring us joy.
A man has joy by the answer of his mouth, and a word spoken in due season, how good it is! (Proverbs 15:23)
We can have joy by giving a good answer or speaking the right thing at the right time.
Keeping our words under control brings us joy - but if we lose control of our mouth, it can bring us anything but joy.
Our children can bring us joy - or not.
He who begets a scoffer does so to his sorrow, and the father of a fool has no joy. (Proverbs 17:21)
I wonder which of Solomon’s children he had in mind…
Children are meant to be a joy to their parents, but if they are fools by living life however they please - they bring their parents to sorrow instead of joy.
The father of a foolish child has no joy in how his child is living.
The just find joy in justice being done.
It is a joy for the just to do justice, but destruction will come to the workers of iniquity. (Proverbs 21:15)
To those who are just or righteous, they find joy in justice. They have nothing to fear, for they are doing what is right.
However, the workers of iniquity are not doing what is right - so they have no pleasure in seeing justice done.