A Merry Heart

Victor Paul Wierwille

A MERRY HEART Often the healthiest people you know are those who smile and laugh a lot. But what about when we face negative situations? Mrs. Dorothea Wierwille Have you ever noticed that often the healthiest people you know are those who smile and laugh a lot – not those who frown and complain all the time? God’s Word tells us that a cheerful attitude has a positive effect on our health. Proverbs 17:22 says, “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.” Let’s look more closely at this verse. First of all, the word “merry” means “glad” or “joyful.” The word “good” has a broad meaning and is therefore properly supplied. The word “medicine” is more accurately translated “cure.” It comes from the Hebrew word gehah, which means to thrust away a bandage that is no longer needed. Another translation of this verse reads, “A merry heart makes the body healthy…” Proverbs are usually structured in parallel sentences, and in this case, a merry heart parallels a broken spirit. The word “broken” means “wounded or smitten.” In this context, the emphasis is more on being disappointed, downcast, or discontented as a general state, as opposed to being hurt by a single event. The word “drieth” is used literally of wet things that dry up. It is also used metaphorically of sapping strength and vigor. The word “bones” is singular, not plural, in the Hebrew. We know that blood, which contains the soul life, is manufactured in the bone. The entire verse properly reads, “A glad heart makes the body healthy, but a wounded life saps the strength from the body.” Rotherham’s translation has it, “A joyful heart worketh and excellent cure, but a stricken spirit drieth up the bones.” Isn’t that a terrific verse to know? A merry heart works an excellent cure, making for a healthy body. We want to look at a few examples in God’s Word of people with a merry heart. We’ll see how important our attitudes are in getting this merry heart. Luke 12:16-19 6 And he [Jesus]