Yesterday, I shared some excerpts from a sermon by Spurgeon on the Joy of the Lord. As I thought about his words, I thought of how often I desire to walk in the joyful sunshine of God’s light but then choose, instead, to walk through the dark, cold shade of my own sinful choices. What are some of those sinful choices–or what I like to call Joy Killers–that are so effective in leading us to the shady side of the street? The list is probably endless, but here are a few that came to mind–
Joy Killers
- Holding a grudge
- Entertainment that glorifies what God hates
- Caring too much about what people think
- Loving money
- Eating more than your body needs
- Wasting time
- Gossiping about someone else
- Caring more about your physical health than your spiritual health
- Watching too much news
- Anger and Frustration
- Caring too much about what you look like
- Focusing only on what’s wrong in the world
- Making yourself and your needs your top priority
- Complaining
- Criticizing
- Trying to fix, control, and manipulate people and circumstances
- Taking something that isn’t yours
- Envy and jealousy
- Sex outside of marriage
- Hating someone
- Putting sports (or anything else) ahead of the spiritual welfare of your family
- Language that is filthy and crude
- Pretending to be someone you are not (hypocrisy)
- Abusing our bodies with substances
- Twisting scripture to make it mean what you want instead of what it really does
- Living only for today, with no thought for eternity
Many on this list are specific things listed in scripture as sin (see Galatians 5). Others are simply unwise to do if we want to live a life of joy. There are so many others that could be added. We humans have been very creative at concocting ways to steal our own joy!
I have been really convicted lately that we need to pray that we (and those we love) would hate sin. No, we will never be perfect here on this earth, but if we have a heart that is yielded to the Lord and we desire to be pure and holy, it is then, and only then, that we make it possible to have deep, abiding communion with our heavenly Father, thus leading to true and lasting joy.
Do you have anything to add to my list of Joy Killers?
Thank you, Leslie! This is thought provoking and true! A few others I thought of are:
27. not being involved in serving others
28. dwelling on past failures rather than what God has done for us and in us
29. not spending quality time in the Word
30. not having much of a prayer life
Awesome additions, Becky! I knew there were some really critical ones that I had missed!
Really great article. Here is one more: Thinking we have to be perfect in order to feel joy.
We will never be free of all the items listed at once. There is grace. God knows our intent and trying.
Yes, great addition! Thank you.