Commending Joyful Men
“And I commend joy, for man has nothing better under the sun but to eat and drink and be joyful, for this will go with him in his toil through the days of his life that God has given him under the sun” (Ecc 8:15).
This line from the book of Ecclesisastes was written by a wise King. This and a few other verses in the book of Ecclesiastes contain direct commendations by the King to be joyful. A wise King knows the importance of joy. It is therefore important that we commend joy in one another, especially commending joy in men.
Men, you are called to be kings. You are called to rule. You are called to take up your God given responsibility and lead your spheres of influence. And biblical leadership means you are called to lead with joy.
A big part of leadership is tone setting. If a leader is sulky and has RBF (let the reader understand), the culture around him will probably be sulky and brittle. But if a leader is merry and glad, the culture that builds around him will probably be joyful and resilient.
This is quoted a ton but I’m going to quote it here again. In C.S. Lewis’s book The Horse and His Boy, King Lune says this about being a King:
This is what it means to be a king: to be first in every desperate attack and last in every desperate retreat, and when there’s hunger in the land (as must be now and then in bad years) to wear finer clothes and laugh louder over a scantier meal than any man in your land.
Joe Rigney has a great little article on Desiring God where he calls this “manly mirth.” The best leaders have a spirit of unconquerable joy. The happy leader in the face of great danger is the best leader. Because he demonstrates to everyone that there is indeed a source of joy that transcends difficult circumstances. And that’s really the essence of good leadership in a fallen world. A good leader shows everyone there is light at the end of the difficult tunnel. There is joy to be found despite what this present sorrow may suggest.
The King of kings demonstes this the best. The Bible teaches that Christ endured the cross for the joy that was set before him (Heb 12:2). Christ endured the greatest trial and difficulty any human has ever endured (the cross), and he was motivated by joy. Christ had an indomitable joy. He had an unconquerable spirit of mirth. The Bible calls him the man of sorrows (Is 53:3), but he was also a man of joy. A joy that he carried with him even unto death.
So men, Christ commends his joy to you. “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full (Jn 15:3).” The joy innate in Christ is promised to you as a gift. But it’s a gift that you must claim by being obedient to Christ. Abiding in Christ is how you get the joy of Christ to fill you up.
Husbands, dads, pastors, men… abide in Christ and be joyful. This is important. It takes work. If you're like me this doesn’t come naturally. But joy is commended to us by God nonetheless. Because people depend on us. Our kids need us to work hard at cultivating an attitude of joy in the home. Our wives need us to be manly men of mirth. Our churches need us to model the unconquerable joy of Christ. Leadership is more than cultivating joy, but it is not less. Let’s strive to discover joy in Christ in our personal lives and then let us model this joy publicly to our people. And then let's see how they respond.