34 – Bring Happiness

War was serious business in Old Testament Israel. But God didn’t want war to get in the way of happy marriages. Able bodied men were expected to show up when the country needed to be defended, but there was one exception.
If a man has recently married, he must not be sent to war or have any other duty laid on him. For one year he is to be free to stay at home and bring happiness to the wife he has married. (Deuteronomy 24:5)
There are three important conclusions that we can draw from this verse.
· God values happy marriages. He wouldn’t have put such a high priority on men staying home if happy marriages weren’t essential to the health of the nation. He wants you to have a happy marriage.
· Happy marriages take some time and effort. That’s the reason the men needed to be given time at home. No one is likely to give you a year off, but you are going to have to work at having a happy marriage, and
· Mere mortals can figure out how to have a happy marriage. The verse implies that if the man is given the chance, he can bring happiness. Don’t imagine that a happy home is beyond your reach. You can do this!
We’ve said earlier that if you make your own happiness a primary goal, you won’t be happy. However, making your spouse and family happy is a worthy goal, and you will find that this will make you happy in the process.
If you want to make your spouse and family happy, you need to take a positive attitude toward life yourself and bring encouragement, joy, and optimism, when you speak to them. If you are a generally negative person, you need to ask God to change your heart. God has transformed angry, negative people into joyful, positive people. Life always has it challenges and difficult times. The joy that the Lord gives is stronger, though, than life’s troubling circumstances. Peter wrote:
Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:8-9)
Peter believed that faith in Jesus produced a great joy that overshadows everything else in life. Paul did too. Even though he faced some very tough times, he wrote:
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! (Philippians 4:4)
We’re not asking you to fake a positive attitude around your family. We’re asking you to choose a positive attitude, and if you don’t know how, ask God to work in your heart to give you the “inexpressible and glorious joy” that Peter wrote about.
Here are simple things you can do to bring a positive, happy attitude into your home.
· Thank your spouse for things that they do. Don’t worry about saying “Thank you” too many times. Your spouse won’t get tired of it.
· Give your spouse and children encouragement and compliments. Tell them that you love them.
· If you have something you need to talk about that is negative, include a positive side to it as well. For example, if you are unhappy that your husband has been coming home late from work without calling you, tell him you appreciate his hard work, but would like for him to call if he isn’t going to be home when you expect him.
· Don’t complain about life. Paul wrote:
Do everything without complaining or arguing. (Philippians 2:14)
· Give thanks to God for your home, your family, and everything you have. Paul also wrote:
Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
· Find things to do with your spouse and family that you all enjoy. As your children get older their interests will change, but if you work at it, you can find things that you all enjoy.
· Develop a sense of humor.
Some people seem only to convey to their family that life is hard, times are tough, and there is no reason to smile. They seem to think that an adult’s job is to keep everyone’s nose to the grindstone. Don’t let this attitude prevail in your home. Make your home a place of happiness that you all enjoy.
Talk About It – What can you do to increase the happiness in your home? Do you have the joy that the Bible talks about? If not, why not?