"Serve the Lord with gladness," not sadness, you dummy!

Psalm 100 says, “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.  Serve the Lord with gladness…

Is this message not clear to many Christians?  I get so tired of seeing sad and somber Christians, who, I can only guess, think they are supposed to be that way out of some kind of reverence they think the Lord desires.  Well, of course the Lord desires reverence, but it is doubtful that he desires somber followers who think they should never laugh and/or ever paint the town red.  How foolish!  He’d get bored with them in 20 minutes!  What are the sad Christians doing—waiting to get to heaven to laugh finally in a carefree manner?  Why should we think they’d laugh once they got to heaven if they never did here on earth?  What’s more, can they be so sure they’re going to get to heaven?  If some don’t get there, they will not be able to laugh, finally, so they’d do better to practice light laughter right now.  Here on earth.  Perhaps a joyful heart should be one of the requirements for getting into heaven.  Some attitudes would change like quick, you know!

What these chronically sad and somber Christians are doing is advertising the devil--  Satan and his followers.  A young person wants happiness in her/his life—the colors of the rainbow, not just gray.  If young people saw some of the Christians I often see and became subject to those Christians’ “sermons” or witness activity, why, they’d most likely run the other way and I can’t say I’d blame them very much.  A gift needs a pleasant wrapping, not just any old brown paper or newspaper wrapped round it.  A house for sale needs sprucing up and some new paint.  A vehicle for sale needs to be shiny and scratch-free as much as possible.  Get the picture?  So what are these sad and somber Christians telling us with their faces and other body language?  They are telling us that they sort of live a life of punishment, of being embraced and imprisoned by SADNESS.  That the Good News and message of Jesus Christ is one that turns you into one of THEM!  God forbid.  (But Ma, I don’t wanna be one of them.)  Remember Dr. Schuller, Robert Schuller preaching from the Crystal Cathedral in California in the 80s?  Now there was a happy preacher.  A dynamic one.  A happy face.  One of the kinds we can imagine Jesus being partial to.  Yes, Jesus can prefer, why not?  Actually, He can do anything He wants.  We peons can like it or not.  Never forget the parable of the vineyard.  It is very important as it reveals so much to us.  To those of us who want to see, that is.  So, to conclude:  Are you a Christian?  If so, what kind?  What kind of expression would those who know you give a drawing or sketch of your face?   Thanks for reading.