Wanna Happy? Be Foolish!

Imagine that, when you open your eyes in the morning, you greet with a ray of bright sunshine, and begin a day with hope and love. You may also make a resolution, "I would love my family and colleagues as Jesus commanded." You are going to the kitchen with humming. But, your spouse gets irritated, "Why didn't you finish dish-washing and taking out the garbage at the last night? You are so irresponsible and lazy. What are you contributing to our family? You do nothing!" You immediately get mad and shout loudly, "What's biting you? Why do you curse me?" Your plan and dream become finally muddled.

This is an image of our ordinary lives. We want to be happy, but it goes athwart our purpose owing to either unexpected obstacles or our weaknesses. Christians are no exception. Even after baptized, they often trip over a rock of lust, desire, anger, jealousy, and depression. Why aren't we happy although we are living with the pious faith to God? Is the pain (which is physical or emotional) inescapable until throwing off this perishable body and entering Heaven since we are still in the continuous process of sanctification?

I have no clear answer about this question. Instead, I recently had an extraordinary experience. I was struggling with a number of complicated issues which made me tremendously stressful and frustrated. I was in a dilemma that I could not find any way out. What I could do was just to collapse in the marsh of despair.

Just at that time, there was an unbelievable twist. I began to haw-haw loudly and roll over and over with laughing my head off. I talked to myself as if getting mad. "Yes. This is life. Life is nothing but funny. So funny!" I felt myself to be foolish during the short time, but surprisingly it, in turn, brought me great comfort and peace. This feeling was not momentary, but starting to change my life. Whenever facing something stressful and complicated, I laughed. I whispered myself, "I am laughing in front of this bitterness. It is really fun! Why? I am foolish." What happened to me?

My experience was not germane to an ethical virtue of humility. Yet it led me to realize that childlike humility, as a gentle expression of foolishness, is a prerequisite not only for loving others but also for our own happiness, as I previously discussed in the other article. I have suggested five properties of childlike humility: joyful dependence, open-heartedness, simplicity, complete faith, and obedience. I wanted to add one more element of "self-abnegation" where I abandon my rights. Let's go back to the above example. You could assert your own right of not being emotionally abused from your spouse. However, your childlike humility would lead you to abandon your right and serve for her without resisting because you believe you are at the bottom as a servant of your family.

Being foolish in our Christian lives is consistent with the fact that we were saved not by our righteousness but by our faith to Jesus. It does not mean nothing is required for us to do for the sake of our redemption. "The salvation is not passive but active." I don't agree to the idea that, without my repentance, without my acts of faith by free will, I could be redeemed just by God's grace although I believe that God's Will chose me as his bride and led me inside the fence of his garden. Hence, my current theological point of view may be much closer to the Arminianism which emphasizes synergistic salvation. Therefore, my conclusion is straightforward: Be foolish (and equivalently humble) with our faith in our pilgrim's progress.