By Danny Minton

Browsing through the various conversations on the internet, I found that there are scores of people who are depressed, unhappy, mad, or just feeling down about all types of things, people, and situations. I find that there is always someone with a negative comment to make, no matter how uplifting or positive the idea being presented tries to present. All the negativity in the world seems to have brought out the worst in the thoughts and emotions of so many. The hateful speech in the political arena, the news spending much of their time on the negatives of the day, and people finding fault in even the purist of acts flood TV and social media, infiltrating even the lives of people trying to see the good in all things.

There’s an old Russian tale about a czar who was getting up in age that I shared four years ago, and I want to share some of those thoughts again. The czar became depressed and was so ill that the call went out that he was going to die. Physicians were summoned from around the country to come up with a cure for the czar’s deadly illness. Everything the physicians tried failed. Finally, in a last attempt, all the wise men were called in to seek their advice on what could be done for the czar.

The wise men met and determined that it indeed was the depression of the Czar that was killing him, so they determined that the only cure was to get him out of the depression. The solution, they felt, required that the czar acquire the shirt of a happy man.

An edict went out for all the country’s soldiers to travel through every town and village, seeking the shirt of a happy man. The search went on for months with no success. People seemed happy, but their lives showed otherwise. It appeared to be a futile effort. Then, one day, the call to return home came out. The czar was dying.

The soldiers sadly began their journey back home. During their long walk home, one group of soldiers sat down and leaned against a large stone wall along the dusty road to rest. Sitting in the shade of the trees along the fence line, they heard a farmer on the other side of the wall. “This has been a good day. My fields are now plowed and planted. My children are healthy. I have a loving wife and good food on the table. I have been truly blessed. Today, I am a happy man.”

When the soldiers heard this, they leaped into action. They quickly scaled the wall and wrestled the man on the other side. He was surrounded by soldiers trying to pull him to the ground. The scene was pandemonium. Finally, one of the soldiers yelled to the others, “Someone grab his shirt!” As they reached for his shirt, they realized he didn’t have one!

What makes you happy? What makes you smile? We see a baby laugh, and we can’t help but smile and laugh with them. We smile and hug when we see friends we haven’t seen in a while. However, we are often like the soldiers of the Czar who are looking for happiness in something physical. We think we’d be happier having more money, a bigger house, or fancy possessions. Our wants overshadow what can truly make us happy. True happiness is not controlled by what comes from what we have on the outside but by what we give from our hearts. 

People spend life trying to gain the things of the world. Yet they do not appear to be as happy as someone who exists on very little. We see people who are successful, rich, or famous have lives filled with turmoil and struggles just like anyone else. Happiness to anyone does not come from what we possess; it’s a state of mind. That’s why someone with little can be just as happy or even more so than someone with much. Happiness comes from contentment, controlled by how we view ourselves and life in general. If we’re always negative, always wanting more, or constantly dissatisfied with what we’ve been dealt in life, then we’ll never be happy.

I came across an uplifting story posted on Facebook and first aired on a CBS “On the Road” segment in 2015. It’s the story of a little boy named Jayden of Savannah, Georgia, whose father passed away when he was four years old, and just a few years later, when he was six, he discovered his mother had died in her sleep. Jayden was heartbroken and went to live with his aunt. In his grief, he was tired of seeing so many people sad all the time. So, little Jayden came up with an idea to fix the problem of sadness in the world. He went to his aunt and had her buy a bunch of small, inexpensive toys, and then they went around the town where he would give a toy to people who didn’t look happy.

When asked why he was doing it, he answered, “I’m trying to make people smile.” It worked. It made everyone who received a toy from this six-year-old child smile. The more he made them smile, the more it helped him overcome what had happened in his life. “I’m still sad my mom died,” he said, but giving away almost 500 smiles has helped. What does he want to do? He wants to give away 33,000. A toy duck, a small dinosaur, or a plastic toy given by a child to those who needed a smile made hundreds of people feel better; some brought tears. It wasn’t the toy that brought the smile but the messenger. What did Jayden get out of it? A chance to heal his heart by helping others and a ton of hugs.

Think about it. What are the things that make you smile and feel good? A child opening gifts from Santa on Christmas morning, the ending of a movie when the good guy wins, or Thanksgiving Day with the family all gathered around reminiscing. Maybe it’s a summer vacation where you can forget work and struggles for a week, birthday parties, weddings, things that bring a feeling of fulfillment. Life is meant to be a joy from the heart, and as the old saying goes, “Life is what we make it.” As Christians, we need to help remove the cloud of gloom that seems to be everywhere we turn and bring smiles into people’s lives. We need to stop dwelling on the negatives of life and begin each morning with the prayer, ^“This is the day which the LORD has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24 (NASB)

(Here is a link to Jayden’s story. Watch it; I promise you’ll smile and maybe have a tear in your eye. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWVF1LSrYg0

Danny Minton is a former Elder and minister at Southern Hills Church of Christ