Be Happy and Live Longer
| Rejoice in the Lord always.
I will say it again: Rejoice! Phil. 4:4, NIV. |
Science has
documented that happiness prolongs life. Drs. Belloc and Breslow conducted
a study of approximately 7,000 people in Alameda County, near San Francisco.
It asked simple questions regarding health habits and observed causes of
death. The study found age of death to be associated with certain health
habits. Surprisingly, diet and exercise, although important, were not the
greatest contributors toward longevity. During a nine-year period 57 percent
more unhappy people died than did happy people.
Ellen White makes two interesting
statements about "perfect" health. One is that "perfect health depends
on perfect circulation" (Testimonies, vol. 2, p. 531). But the second
statement has nothing to do with exercise or what we eat. She says, "In
order to have perfect health our hearts must be filled with hope and love
and joy" (Counsels on Health, p. 587).
Could it follow that a happy
smoker might outlive a gloomy, depressed vegetarian? And could it be possible
that a happy nonexerciser might be better off than a gloomy vegetarian
marathoner?
Joy and happiness can get
flabby if you neglect to exercise them. Joy is a habit. Don't let circumstance,
no matter how morbid and distressing, kill your joy and contentment. Happiness
is more than that little yellow smiley face we stick on envelopes. It's
an option that we must choose and use or it will shrivel away, just as
muscles atrophy when they receive no exercise.
Considering the circumstances
under which the book of Philippians was written—while the apostle Paul
was incarcerated in a Roman dungeon—the book is an amazing piece of work.
Instead of the gloomy, depressing tone one would expect from a prisoner,
Philippians is called the Joy Epistle. In fact, the idea of joy or rejoicing
appears more than a dozen times in this short letter. Paul says, "I have
learned how to get along happily whether I have much or little. I know
how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret
of contentment in every situation" (Phil. 4:11, 12, TLB). Can you say the
same?
When you get discouraged, read the
Joy Epistle,
and rejoice in the Lord always. |
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