Bert and John Jacobs share a remarkable story. They were the youngest of 6 children, growing up in an inexpensive house (with no upstairs heat) in Massachusetts. When they were in elementary school their parents were in a car accident that caused their father to lose the use of his right hand. Their dad understandably adopted a sour disposition soon after but their mother always remained the optimist in life. The Jacobs brothers shared in an autobiography that she would sing and act out stories for them. She had a rule at the dinner table that everyone had to share something good that happened to them that day.
When the boys got older they decided to take a road trip across the nation (from California to Boston) that ended up lasting seven weeks. There was no real plan on the trip except for them to use the time to find out what they wanted to do with their lives. When the trip was over they had their plan. Perhaps it was inspired by their mother’s nature.
They would sell T-shirts.
This may not sound like a brilliant idea to you and me, but they dove into the idea with all the gusto they could manage. They bought a used van and loaded it up with their shirts and went up and down the east coast trying to sell their wares to college students. It did not go so well. Bert’s girlfriend broke up with him, and they didn’t make any money. When they were down to their last 78 dollars they threw one last party for local students and changed their shirt design to have a cartoonish face smiling at you with the words “Life is good” on it.
This design turned around their fortunes. They sold all the shirts they had and then were able to get a small store in Cape Cod to sell more of them. By the end of the year they had made 87 thousand dollars worth of shirt sales. In 1997 they broke the 1 million dollar amount for sales. And now their products sell in more than 4500 stores and make more than 100 million dollars in sales.
The Jacobs brothers said that they wanted “to spread the power of optimism,” and indeed that is really what made them successful. Most people don’t think much about just getting a T-shirt, but what about getting one that sends such a positive message? That is something that resonated with people across the country. Life is good, and people wanted to share that sentiment. It was a message that people needed, a reminder of the power of optimism and good things in life.
I find it interesting that this specifically was their message. Life is good, instead of “fair,” or “happy,” or “easy.” The angels had a similar message when Jesus came into the world. Joy is good. Joy is coming.
Luke 2:10
10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.
The promise with Jesus was never that things would be fair, easy, or even happy. The proclamation was instead that joy was coming to us all. What does that mean? How is joy different than happiness? It may be this: happiness has a lot to do with external circumstances. Good things happen to you and you get happy. Something bad happens and you get sad. Happiness is like a wave that can go up and down from day to day.
Joy doesn’t do that. Joy comes from the knowledge that God is with you. When Christ was born joy came to all the people. Jesus talks about this more in John’s gospel toward the end of his ministry.
John 16:19-24
19 Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, “Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’? 20 Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. 21 A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. 22 So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. 23 In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.
In the Declaration of Independence there are three things that are considered rights for everyone. One of those things is the “pursuit of happiness.” I wonder what a pursuit of joy instead would look like. If joy comes from the real understanding of the divine in our lives, then the pursuit of it would mean doing the things you need to do to recognize God’s presence in your life. When God is with you, no one can take away your joy.
But here is the Good News: God is with you now. And your life’s joy is directly related to the extent to which you realize it. Imagine what kind of a world this would be if everyone, all the time, realized God’s presence in their lives.
What a joy filled world it would be.
God Bless.