One of the greatest questions Jesus ever asks is a question He poses to a man who had been an invalid for 38 years. Here is the question He asks: "Do you want to be healed?" Now that may seem like an utterly ridiculous question, especially in light of the fact that the man has been sick for such a long time, but the truth is sometimes people don't want to be healed. This is true about being happy too. Some people simply don't want to be happy.
Question: Why wouldn't someone want to be happy? Well,there are a whole lot of reasons. Some people want to control other people. Some people have a great need to feel pitied or want large amounts of attention. Some people don't want the expectation of having to achieve and they think that people who are unhappy can't be expected to achieve much. One huge factor in why people don't want to be happy is because it's easier to be unhappy. You see it takes discipline to leave all your dependencies and to rid yourself of an unhappy state of mind. It's hard work to leave behind all your excuses and take on the full responsiblity of life without complaining. That's why God asked the question He asked. He knew being healed wasn't as simple as just saying yes and then getting up and walking, no there was a price to pay for such a change in lifestyle. There is a price to pay if we really want to be happy too.
So what if you don't want to be healed? What if you want to stay unhappy the rest of your life? What are some qualities that might be present in your life? Let me mention a few so that some of you might do some introspection and hopefully realize where change needs to take place.
Here are some ways to people cultivate being in a constant state of unhappiness.
1. Insist that nothing ever meets your standard of expectation and be sure to tell everyone else how the food, performance, or service fell short.
2. Be a loner. Avoid developing relationships at all cost. Make sure that community building is not on your schedule.
3. Avoid excercise and physical effort. Drive everywhere, and when you are at home, get off the couch as little as possible.
4. Cultivate habits that keep you stressed to the max. For instance, if you are short on cash, charge up your credit card. Of if you are busy at work, make sure you stay up late to watch Letterman or Leno. If you have very little time for yourself, make sure you make complex plans that will take lots of time and errands to manage.
Jesus' question of whether or not we want to be healed seems like a no brainer but it's not. Healing and happiness are a choice that we make. The question we all have to answer is what does our life demonstate that we've chosen. I think Abraham Lincoln said it best when he said, "Most people are about as happy as they make up their mind to be." So...what's your answer? Do you want to be healed?
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