Be Happy and Live Longer
Friday, April 26, 2024
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Phil. 4:4, NIV.
Science has documented that happiness prolongs life. Drs. Belloc and Breslow conducted a study of approximately 7,000 people in Alameda County, near San Francisco. It asked simple questions regarding health habits and observed causes of death. The study found age of death to be associated with certain health habits. Surprisingly, diet and exercise, although important, were not the greatest contributors toward longevity. During a nine-year period 57 percent more unhappy people died than did happy people.
Ellen White makes two interesting statements about "perfect" health. One is that "perfect health depends on perfect circulation" (Testimonies, vol. 2, p. 531). But the second statement has nothing to do with exercise or what we eat. She says, "In order to have perfect health our hearts must be filled with hope and love and joy" (Counsels on Health, p. 587).
Could it follow that a happy smoker might outlive a gloomy, depressed vegetarian? And could it be possible that a happy nonexerciser might be better off than a gloomy vegetarian marathoner?
Joy and happiness can get flabby if you neglect to exercise them. Joy is a habit. Don't let circumstance, no matter how morbid and distressing, kill your joy and contentment. Happiness is more than that little yellow smiley face we stick on envelopes. It's an option that we must choose and use or it will shrivel away, just as muscles atrophy when they receive no exercise.
Considering the circumstances under which the book of Philippians was written—while the apostle Paul was incarcerated in a Roman dungeon—the book is an amazing piece of work. Instead of the gloomy, depressing tone one would expect from a prisoner, Philippians is called the Joy Epistle. In fact, the idea of joy or rejoicing appears more than a dozen times in this short letter. Paul says, "I have learned how to get along happily whether I have much or little. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of contentment in every situation" (Phil. 4:11, 12, TLB). Can you say the same?
When you get discouraged, read the Joy Epistle, and rejoice in the Lord always.
Science has documented that happiness prolongs life. Drs. Belloc and Breslow conducted a study of approximately 7,000 people in Alameda County, near San Francisco. It asked simple questions regarding health habits and observed causes of death. The study found age of death to be associated with certain health habits. Surprisingly, diet and exercise, although important, were not the greatest contributors toward longevity. During a nine-year period 57 percent more unhappy people died than did happy people.
Ellen White makes two interesting statements about "perfect" health. One is that "perfect health depends on perfect circulation" (Testimonies, vol. 2, p. 531). But the second statement has nothing to do with exercise or what we eat. She says, "In order to have perfect health our hearts must be filled with hope and love and joy" (Counsels on Health, p. 587).
Could it follow that a happy smoker might outlive a gloomy, depressed vegetarian? And could it be possible that a happy nonexerciser might be better off than a gloomy vegetarian marathoner?
Joy and happiness can get flabby if you neglect to exercise them. Joy is a habit. Don't let circumstance, no matter how morbid and distressing, kill your joy and contentment. Happiness is more than that little yellow smiley face we stick on envelopes. It's an option that we must choose and use or it will shrivel away, just as muscles atrophy when they receive no exercise.
Considering the circumstances under which the book of Philippians was written—while the apostle Paul was incarcerated in a Roman dungeon—the book is an amazing piece of work. Instead of the gloomy, depressing tone one would expect from a prisoner, Philippians is called the Joy Epistle. In fact, the idea of joy or rejoicing appears more than a dozen times in this short letter. Paul says, "I have learned how to get along happily whether I have much or little. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of contentment in every situation" (Phil. 4:11, 12, TLB). Can you say the same?
When you get discouraged, read the Joy Epistle, and rejoice in the Lord always.
Used by permission of Health Ministries, North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.
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