A Box of Happiness

I walked into the general mercantile and there stood a kindly older looking gentleman and I said to him, “I would like a large box of happiness please.” He looked up and smiled as he said, “Ah, I have just what you are looking for, but first, let me tell you how much it costs and you make sure that a large box of happiness is what you really want.”

“To be happy you must FIRST make God your Lord in all things. SECOND, happiness will come to you only if you put the welfare of others before your own welfare.

“THIRD, happiness will only come to those who develop a spirit of forgiveness, even to their enemies and refuse to carry a load of un-forgiveness on themselves. FOURTH, my friend, happiness belongs to the person who loves his neighbor as himself and is kind and gentle in all his dealings with others. Happiness is obtained, beloved, in the FIFTH place when one returns GOOD FOR EVIL and not evil for good or even evil for evil.

“SIXTH, the large box of happiness requires that one be a SERVANT and not demand to be served. You see, dear one, I could go on and on, but you surely get the point.

“Yes, I have a large box of happiness, in fact it is in the form of a book authored by God and revealed by the Holy Spirit. Let me remind you, however, that the prescriptions found in this book, while guaranteed to be effective, will not work until they are applied. So, get your head in this large book of happiness and live the more abundant life when its prescriptions are followed.”

-Adapted from Ted Knight from Conway, Arkansas.