If you have spent any time at all around small children you know that they like to make noise. This is not really surprising, for noise is how kids get our attention. Kids get loud when they aren’t happy and they want us to do something about it. But they can also turn up the volume when they’re feeling good. I don’t think there is anything wrong with this. Being loud can be fun. In fact, we often encourage this behavior in children with many of the songs we teach them. Take for example this classic song, that encourages kids to make noise by clapping if they are happy:
If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands.
If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands.
If you’re happy and you know it then your face will surely show it.
If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands.
If you are like me you have heard this song more times than you can count. But have you ever really thought about it much? I didn’t either until one day the song crossed my mind and I began to think about what it was saying. Why should we equate clapping with happiness, for example? If our faces show that we are happy then clapping seems unnecessary.
These are interesting things to ponder, but the biggest question about this song that sticks in my mind is this:
Can you be happy and not know it?
Is it actually possible to be happy and not be aware of your own happiness? I don’t think it is. I can’t think of a situation where someone was truly happy and yet unaware of it. Yes, yes, I know. I am probably guilty of overanalyzing a children’s song. But doing so has led me to think of a similar feeling that I think can exist without us being aware of it in our lives.
Gratitude.
That feeling is often a companion to happiness but is distinctly different. It means being thankful, and it is spoken of several times in scripture:
Psalm 100
All Lands Summoned to Praise God
A Psalm of thanksgiving.
1 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Serve the Lord with gladness;
come into his presence with singing.
3 Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him; bless his name.
5 For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever
and his faithfulness to all generations.
Philippians :4-7
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Can you be thankful and not know it? Oh, yes, I believe you can. At least, we can not think of the things for which we should be thankful. This kind of thing happens all the time, and I am no exception to this. I often think of the bad side of things instead of seeing the silver lining. I might be upset if rain changes my outside plans one day, without thinking of how nice and essential that falling water is to the flowers and crops around me. Or maybe I fixate on something bad that has happened in my life instead of thinking about all the good things that happened afterward.
In light of this I propose a change to the old children’s song. Let’s change the lyrics around and see how it works with a focus on being thankful.
If you’re thankful and you know it pray to God.
If you’re thankful and you know it pray to God.
If you’re thankful and you know it then your faith will surely show it.
If you’re thankful and you know it pray to God.
Thanks for reading, and God Bless.