Liba Hopeson | BTC, Pfutsero
Psychology is believed and reckoned to be extremely powerful, yet it is also enormously deceptive. Indeed I don’t hate psychology nor do I deny the strength of this subject, but I discovered that there are many weaknesses in it. Psychology involves the study of mind, behavior, character etc. of a person. Many would durst say certain things about a person, adding, they can easily recognize or know through psychology. It is said that we can perceive whether a person is happy or sad by studying the psycho and appearance of a person. In certain instances, it’s true, but not all the time. Can psychology help us to know the inner joy of a person? You may say yes, but it’s very much doubtful to me. In fact, many have different understandings of joy and happiness. I do understand them differently. Needless to mention, joy can happen even in times of pains and struggles, but happiness mostly occur in good and pleasant times.
Many have wrongly judged me about my experience of joy and happiness and it prompted me to pen this article. Truly speaking, when I have a good relationship with my God and do my obligations faithfully, I have joy in my heart. Nonetheless, many persons often asked me, “why are you sad today or these days”? Why are you fretful? So, it’s a wonder and surprise for me that, despite of my amazing experience of joy, I’m taken wrong that I look doleful and apprehensive. Of course, I don’t mean I am irked by those comments, but it’s a question I seriously ask and I want you to contemplate. For, when I have wonderful experience of joy, I don’t remember vividly somebody commenting me, ‘you look joyful’. On the contrary, many a times, when I have emptiness, restlessness and unhappiness in my heart, many used to comment or say that I look happy. It’s so ironical and confounding. They even question me, “Why are you happy”? What makes you happy? At this moment my heart cries and say to myself, I better search for the joy I have had and let people say I look gloomy and anxious. Yes, at this moment, I was just left in marvel and bewilderment. Most of my experiences of joy are not known by others. And it’s not only mine which is not recognized, some of my friends too shared to me about their similar experiences. Consequently, I come to the conclusion that, through psychology, we cannot easily perceive or recognize the joy of a person. Rethink! Question! Search! Psychology is truly illusive many times. For instance, as we (BTCians) were told, one of my lecturers is frequently commented by others that, ‘he looks gloomy’. But I don’t agree with those who said that he looks gloomy. I don’t see him gloomy. Why? Perhaps the simple reason is I know him as his student. Perhaps, many have misjudged him by studying only his outward appearance. In fact, looking only at the outward appearance of a person is the weakness of human. One of my friends told me, if I meet his rough-and-tough looking uncle, I would surely think or assume that he is aggressive and rude, but in reality his heart is very clean and good. Hence, he likes and adores him. So, we cannot simply judge a person by looking only at the outward experience. Even an experience of happiness is not seen or known by others always. Once, I was eagerly waiting for electric current for quite a long time for emergency computer works, when abruptly, it came when I was with friends. Interestingly, it was not me alone who was waiting for it, but also my friends. They screamed out of joy but I didn’t, for I usually don’t when current come. It prompted me to think about wrong psychologies. I jokingly asked, do you think that I’m not happy? They grinned. I said I’m happier than you. Actually, I thought and believed I was happier than my friends who shouted out of sheer happiness. However, in that situation, there is possibility for any bystander(s) to suppose that I was not affected by the coming of the electric light, for I didn’t tangibly react but remained cool and calm. So, citing this example, I would caution, psychology can be tricky and dangerous many times! Consider a particular group of Jamaicans! In a healing crusade, though they are miraculously healed, unlike many western people, they will not declare in the service and shout for joy. However, when they reach home, they will declare that they were healed from severe sicknesses or diseases. And they would thank God and express their extreme happiness and joy at home. But we cannot condemn or undermine them by saying that it was untimely reaction. For, they are not us and we are not them.
Unless we study the inner heart or being of a person, we may not know the joy a person experiences. For the joy comes from inside our being. Apostle Paul too wrote that he faced problems, adversities, sorrows, pains, struggles and many more, but despite of all these, he had ‘joy’. Even in our lives, we may face problems, pains and sufferings, but we can still have joy deep down in our heart. Others may not identify that we have joy in our heart, but deep down in our heart there is joy, though the reason(s) may differ from person to person. And I believe this joy is at best when we have an intimate and good relationship with our Master, ‘Almighty God’. When we obey Him and do His will, we refrain ourselves from certain worldly things, but we receive a big reward – that is ‘joy’. Since, this joy comes from God, we may not be able to perceive or know if we don’t look him/her with Godly eyes or study with Godly mind. Let us remember that, through psychology, we can discern many things, yet it is also very deceptive. It can lead us wrong in many ways. Lest we are careful, we’ll have many suppositions and assumptions, which will ultimately lead to wrong judgments. So don’t study only the outward appearance of a person! We might have ignored and discarded many who are pure in heart and who have positive attitude towards us merely because of our wrong psychologies. How many have commented that you look joyful when you really are? Can you really sense the inner joy of a person? It is unique and precious.
