This is Pastor Tim’s article that appeared in the Evening Leader on Tuesday, Dec 12, 2023
Okay, the third candle of Advent, which we will light in church this coming Sunday, is one that we need to talk about because it is in short supply today. This is the candle of Joy. Just like the first two candles, the candles of hope and peace, joy is also a choice. However, unlike the other two, this one is deceiving. Usually, when we come upon a decision, the hopeful and peaceful options are pretty obvious. They may not be easy choices, but they are apparent choices.
However, Joy is very different. The reason that joy can be deceiving is that we way over-simplify joy to the point that we become confused about what it is. We think that the joyful choice is the happy choice, but that is a dangerous way to define joy. You see, happiness is an emotion, and I would strongly encourage you to be very careful about making decisions based on emotions. I would go so far as to tell you never to do it. That is because there is so much randomness in emotions. What you are feeling now is a product of so many factors that it is hard to tell why you are feeling what you are feeling right now, and any predictions of what you will be feeling an hour from now are really just an educated guess. What you are feeling right now is based on factors like: what you had for supper last night, what time you went to bed, how much cooperation you got from your family this morning, and what your drive to and from work was like. Your emotions are greatly affected by these factors, yet you have no real control over them. That means if you are utilizing emotional decision-making, you are making choices based on random factors. Does that sound like a path to true joy? Clearly not.
In order to experience the joy of the Advent and Christmas season, you have to get past what is happening in this moment because it is undoubtedly that something frustrating is happening right now. If all of the random experiences of the world have to align before you are able to feel joy, then it is most likely that you have never experienced true joy at any point in your life. Yet, this coming Sunday, we are lighting a candle in honor of joy. Would we light a candle in honor of an experience that almost no one ever has? Of course not. That is because Joy is not an emotion at all. That is why we light the candle. We light the candle in honor of our decision that we have joy and that choice is not based on anything we may be feeling.
If you want evidence of this, I encourage you to look at anyone who makes all of their choices based on what they think will make them happy. How happy are those people actually? Emotional decision-makers are the most unhappy people on earth yet they are the ones who are doing all of their decision-making in pursuit of the experience of happiness. How can that be? It is because they expect the world to give them joy and I can promise that is not how it works. You cannot line up enough happiness to give you true joy unless you are already choosing to be joyful first. The emotions we experience are far stronger than the power of joy because what you feel will cancel joy every time. Just ask a person who is selfish how happy they are and when they answer, ask yourself if the look on their face leads you to believe that person is joyful.
If I had the ability to give you happiness or give you joy, I would absolutely give you joy. Happiness is a feeling that may or may not be based on reality. However, joy is a way of life that breeds optimism and uplifts the heart. You have no reason to ever expect the world to make you happy. You are asking for crushing disappointment if you do. Nevertheless, joy is always in reach, it is always available particularly for people of faith. Our joy comes from the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is why it is so appropriate that one of our four Advent candles is the candle of joy.
In your marriage, in your relationships, in your job, in your recreation, in your family, in your friendships, in your finances, in your home, in your life, choose joy. Let joy be your primary motivation because unless you are willing to choose joy, you will never achieve it. You cannot make yourself happy enough to become joyful.