Let’s Talk About Joy: Two Kinds of Joy
Just as there are different types of love, there are different types of joy. Joy comes from different sources – some temporal, some eternal. Here are some more definitions for you to think about:
*Eternal: never ending, lasting forever without beginning or ending in time; ceaseless, constantly repeated, continued without interruption; independent of time or its conditions or of the things that are perishable; unchangeable, boundless, deathless, enduring, immortal, imperishable, infinite, never ending, timeless, undying.
*Temporal: concerned with life on earth, related to secular or worldly matters; lasts only for a short time; related to or concerned with worldly affairs; worldly material as opposed to spiritual; earthly, fleeting, secular, worldly.
2 Corinthians 4:17-18 (AMP) explains temporal vs eternal like this, “For our momentary, light distress [this passing trouble] is producing for us an eternal weight of glory [a fullness] beyond all measure [surpassing all comparisons, a transcendent splendor and an endless blessedness]! So we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are unseen; for the things which are visible are temporal [just brief and fleeting], but the things which are invisible are everlasting and imperishable.”
Since there are two kinds of joy, eternal and temporal; and since this scripture says that “the things unseen are eternal,” it must require faith to have eternal joy – the God-kind of joy. Hebrews 11:1 (AMP) says, “Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality – faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses].” This is how we get eternal joy!
Let’s take a look at some examples of temporal joy in the Bible:
*Ecclesiastes 7:6 (NIV), “like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of fools. This too is meaningless.”
*Proverbs 14:13 (MSG), “Sure those people appear to be having a good time, but all that laughter will end in heartbreak.”
King Solomon speaks volumes about temporal, empty joy in Ecclesiastes 1:16-2:11 (MSG), “I said to myself, ‘I know more and I’m wiser than anyone before me in Jerusalem. I’ve stockpiled wisdom and knowledge.’ What I’ve finally concluded is that so-called wisdom and knowledge are mindless and witless – nothing but spitting into the wind. Much learning earns you much trouble. The more you know, the more you hurt. I said to myself, ‘Let’s go for it – experiment with pleasure, have a good time!’ But there was nothing to it, nothing but smoke. What do I think of the fun-filled life? Insane! Inane! My verdict on the pursuit of happiness? Who needs it? With the help of a bottle of wine and all the wisdom I could muster, I tried my level best to penetrate the absurdity of life. I wanted to get a handle on anything useful we mortals might do during the years we spend on this earth. Oh, I did great things: Built houses, planted vineyards, designed gardens and parks and planted a variety of fruit trees in them, made pools of water to irrigate the groves of trees. I bought slaves, male and female, who had children, giving me even more slaves; then I acquired large herds and flocks, larger than any before me in Jerusalem. I piled up silver and gold, loot from kings and kingdoms. I gathered a chorus of singers to entertain me with song, and – most exquisite of all pleasures – voluptuous maidens for my bed. Oh, how I prospered! I left all my predecessors in Jerusalem far behind, left them behind in the dust. What’s more, I kept a clear head through it all. Everything I wanted I took – I never said no to myself. I gave in to every impulse, held back nothing. I sucked the marrow of pleasure out of every task – my reward to myself for a hard day’s work! Then I took a good look at everything I had done, looked at all the sweat and hard work. But when I looked, I saw nothing but smoke. Smoke and spitting into the wind. There was nothing to any of it. Nothing.”
Solomon did not have the benefit, as we do, of the Almighty God living inside of him, but he recognized that joy that was not of God was temporary and empty. He was the wealthiest and wisest man to ever live on earth, but none of those THINGS brought him eternal joy. Jesus summed this up in Mark 8:36 (NIV), “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?”
Genuine joy cannot be counterfeited. Genuine joy cannot be bought, it cannot be sold, it cannot be earned. Genuine joy comes from God alone, and it is one of the Fruits of the Spirit that He freely gives us when we are born again!