Peripatetics: The Art of Walking
Monday, October 03, 2005
Livin' In A Van Down By The River
Chris Farley had it all.
He was a featured player on Saturday Night Live.
He made a series of movies that made a wheelbarrow full of money.
He was being compared to the great John Belushi.
He was part of American popular culture.
And then he died. The circumstances around that situation have faded, but if memory serves correctly it had something to do with drugs. Maybe alcohol. There were rumors of prostitutes. Who knows where the truth was? But definitely one of those deaths that everybody saw as tragic in the sense that somebody so talented who brought so much joy into the lives of others was wrestling with so much inner turmoil and unhappiness.
All the people who were his friends on the news made comments about that stuff. The joy on the outside, that everybody admired, didn't match how he felt personally.
And it illustrates a certain reality: People are drawn to joyful people.
So, we'll begin our study of "joy," the second in the list of fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5.
Which is interesting that many non-Christians generally don't view the Christian community as joyful. We seem to have developed this reputation for being serious, staid, rigid...and...well...boring.
For today, why do you think joy is in the list of the fruit of the Spirit? Do you agree with my assertion that most non-Christians view Christians as less than joyful? Why or why not? What's the difference in acting joyful and being joyful?
Brent 7:08 AM
Comments:
Interesting..this church i have been going to is going over the fruits of the spirit as well..sunday was our joy week.
I can't always tell the difference between acting joyful and being joyful because it wouldn't seem that joy would be present in a person who is externally miserable...but i guess it is possible???
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