Smile! (But I Don’t Feel Like It)

Some people say you should smile until you feel it. Fake it until you make it. Grin and bear it. Our reaction might be, “Why? I just don’t feel like it.”

Most of us encounter a lot of people every day. Regardless of what our faces look like, we know what theirs look like. From personal experience my instinct is to respond in kind. If they are smiling, I feel like smiling back; if they are nonplussed, then a neutral look is evoked.

When I encounter people who are frowning, my reaction is to look away or down. If we are constantly around frowning people, it puts a damper on things. Of course, if I had a choice I would prefer a smiling face.

Those people I meet who are smiling day after day—where do they come from? Do they live on a different planet? Watch a different news channel? Did they just win the lottery? No to all of the above.

So if their facial expressions evoke a response in me, then I should consider what kind of response the look on my face precipitates. After all, I am responsible for my actions and how they impact others.

Choosing the look on my face

When I look in the mirror and evaluate my “normal” facial expression, sometimes I am pleasantly surprised, but at other times I can see improvement is needed.

What is my motivation for a particular look on my face?

• Real pain caused by a particular event.
• Weariness from the monotony of life.
• Temporary happiness over a particular event.
• Real joy that stems from the hope that lies within me.

The look on my face is just as much of a choice as any other decision I make. However, after a few days, weeks, months and years, that look becomes a habit, and I don’t even have to make a conscious decision about putting it on.

Since I am in control of me, I should consider how I can maintain the look that brings an uplifting response in others. “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden” (Matthew 5:14).

Ecclesiastes 3:4 tells me there is “a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.” So I am not required to wear a plastic smile 24/7. But my life should not be filled with sadness and hopelessness.

Philippians 4:11 encourages me to follow the example of Paul who learned “in whatever state I am, to be content.” If I am content, what does my face look like? It should be pleasant and, more likely than not, wearing a smile.

Another adage sheds more light on having a smile on our face: “Hope sees the invisible, feels the intangible and achieves the impossible.” This is confirmed in Hebrews 11:1: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Transcending the temporary

So far, it sounds as if the look on my face should come from more than the uncontrollable events happening around me. Paul writes, “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable” (1 Corinthians 15:19).

So I must look at the big picture, God’s plan for mankind, which transcends this temporal life.

But what about the ultimate downer—death? Especially untimely, uncontrollable circumstances that seem totally unfair and affect so many people? Paul also writes: “But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13).

Understanding God’s plan for mankind gives us something to look forward to. Check out our booklet From Holidays to Holy Days: God’s Plan for You, which reveals the wonderful plan God has for each and every one of us who has ever been born.

Our countenance should reflect the hope that lies within us. We need the armor of God every day in order to be a light in this world.

No matter what our present circumstances, we see the choice is ours, and it does have an impact on the people around us. So put a smile on—there is no reason not to!

Susan Scott Smith is a third grade teacher and a member of the Church of God, a Worldwide Association, in Texas.