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Pollyanna, Rejoicing, and the Promises
"Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice,
ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart" (Psalm 32:11).
"[Charity] rejoiceth in the Truth... believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things" (1Corinthians 13:6, 7).
"All things work together for good to
them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28).
by Tom Stewart
Preface
Eleanor H. Porter's novel Pollyanna (1913)-- now in
the Public
Domain ---New Window -- was a success
when originally published, and it has become a piece of Americana, especially since
Hayley Mills won an Academy Award portraying the infectiously glad orphan in Walt
Disney's "Pollyanna" (1960). "Let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea,
let them exceedingly rejoice" (Psalm 68:3). The fictional character Pollyanna Whittier was the orphaned daughter of
a home missionary, who came to live with her grudging but dutiful Aunt Polly Harrington.
Not only did Pollyanna finally overflow her optimism onto Aunt Polly, but she had
already contaminated Nancy (Aunt Polly's servant), the Ladies' Aiders (the women's
church group), Mr. Pendleton (the town recluse, but renamed Mr. Pendegast in the
Disney movie), Jimmy Bean (another orphan), Mrs. Snow (the contrary hypochondriac),
Dr. Chilton (the town's doctor), Rev. Paul Ford (the pastor of their church), and
most everyone else in Beldingsville, Vermont. "Rejoice
in the LORD alway: and again I say, Rejoice" (Philippians
4:4).
When Pollyanna was first published, American Christianity's isolated innocence
had yet to be shattered by the United States' 1917 entry into the War to End All
Wars (WW 1). Optimism of ushering in the Millennium, i.e., "But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth
more and more unto the perfect day" (Proverbs 4:18), would essentially evaporate after WW 1-- only that particular interpretation
of Proverbs 4:18 evaporated-- when the Americans, the Allies, and the Central
Powers experienced a carnage of 8.4 million dead. And, following WW 2, any further
optimism about the future-- after an even greater 40-50 million war deaths-- would
later give way to the increased talk of Evangelical Christians being Raptured before
the outbreak of the coming Tribulation. "Evil
men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived" (2Timothy 3:13). In fact, dictionaries now define
a "Pollyanna" as a person regarded as being foolishly or blindly optimistic.
Used in such a derogatory way, a "Pollyanna" is a naive person, who does
not see reality, in particular, the selfishness or evilness in man. Then, what is
it that still attracts us to the infectious enthusiasm and gladness of Pollyanna?
"Be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that
which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy" (Isaiah 65:18).
Pollyanna's Glad Game
You don't even have to be a Heavenbound Christian to feel some kind of admiration
for an unsinkable determination to be optimistic, when few seem to be glad about
their present circumstances, e.g., "But
the LORD was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight
of the keeper of the prison" (Genesis 39:21). Pollyanna's attractiveness to the truly Godly would be her willingness
to be Glad, because Pollyanna's minister father had showed her from the Scriptures--
as we shall later see-- that it was God's Will for her to "rejoice
and be glad" (Psalm 70:4). Of course,
anyone can play Pollyanna's Glad Game; however, only those who participate
because the LORD Jesus Christ has invited them to do so, can receive any Eternal
Benefit for their participation. "3 Blessed [Greek,
makarios, happy] are the poor in spirit [who understand their spiritual poverty apart from Christ]: for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
4 Blessed [happy] are they that mourn [who truly lament
about sinning against Christ]: for they shall
be comforted. 5 Blessed [happy] are the meek [who readily submit to God's dealings with them]:
for they shall inherit the Earth. 6 Blessed [happy] are they which do hunger
and thirst after righteousness [who desire and seek after the
Righteous Christ and seek to do right action]:
for they shall be filled. 7 Blessed
[happy]
are the merciful [who hold back the ill deserts that others
have accrued and deserve]: for they shall obtain
mercy. 8 Blessed [happy] are the pure in heart [whose heart has been purified by trusting solely in the cleansing of Christ's
sacrifice on the Cross]: for they shall see
God. 9 Blessed [happy] are the peacemakers [who seek to bring to others the Peace they have found in Christ]: for they shall be called the Children of God. 10 Blessed
[happy] are they which are persecuted for righteousness'
sake [who are misunderstood and hated by those who are not
yet poor in spirit]: for theirs is the Kingdom
of Heaven. 11 Blessed [happy] are ye, when men shall revile
you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for
My sake [who can now so identify with their LORD that they
count themselves blessed to bear the same kind of persecution heaped upon the LORD
Jesus]" (Matthew
5:3-11).
In Chapter 5, listen to Pollyanna explain the Glad Game to Nancy:
Later, in Chapter 22, Eleanor Porter has Pollyanna explaining the Glad Game to Rev.
Paul Ford. Speaking about her father, notice how Pollyanna innocently expounds the
Scripture to the parson:
Rejoicing Is a Christian's Satisfaction With God
Rejoicing is a Christian's satisfaction with God, and it is not a grievous burden.
"O satisfy us early with Thy mercy; that
we may rejoice and be glad all our days" (Psalm
90:14). Rejoicing is not an onerous burden that we must carry, as
initially Aunt Polly dutifully but bitterly carried the burden of taking in her orphan
niece, Pollyanna. What would others think of Aunt Polly, if she had refused? Scandalous!
And, that kind of burden carrying, the Pharisees understood. "1 Then
spake Jesus to the multitude, and to His disciples, 2 Saying The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: 3 All therefore whatsoever they bid
you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say,
and do not. 4 For they
bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but
they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.
5 But all their works they do for to be seen
of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, 6 And love the uppermost rooms at
feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, 7 And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi,
Rabbi. 8 But be not ye
called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. 9 And call no man your father upon
the Earth: for one is your Father, which is in Heaven. 10 Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even
Christ. 11 But he that
is greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he
that shall humble himself shall be exalted. 13 But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for
ye shut up the Kingdom of Heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither
suffer ye them that are entering to go in" (Matthew
23:1-13).
Rejoicing is a responsibility we have to God, since the beginning of joyfulness in
us has to be our willingness to see what God has done for us to make us so disposed.
"Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye
righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart" (Psalm 32:11). Now, that's a command that we should
easily see the pleasure in obeying! "16 Rejoice evermore.
18 In every thing give thanks: for this is
the Will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you" (1Thessalonians
5:16, 18). What do we truly have to rejoice about? Not so much what
we have down here-- and, we are grateful for that-- but, we are keenly aware of the
Heaven that Christ purchased for us with His Blood! "Notwithstanding
in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because
your names are written in Heaven" (Luke 10:20). Our rejoicing is a cooperative effort with God. He looks in us for a willing
heart, i.e., "For if there be first a
willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that
he hath not" (2Corinthians 8:12)
and "Every man according as he
purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God
loveth a cheerful giver" (2Corinthians 9:7). Then, He works in us the doing of that which we would not have done otherwise.
"For it is God which worketh in you both
to will and to do of His good pleasure" (Philippians
2:13). We cannot claim to be truly cooperating with God in rejoicing,
unless we are doing everything that we can to actually perform it. "But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I
work" (John 5:17). If we can only
see our obedience in being glad and rejoicing as our love for the LORD Who Bought
Us, then we will gladly bear that kind of Joyful Burden. "For
this is the Love of God, that we keep His commandments: and His commandments are
not grievous [burdensome]" (1John 5:3). Instead of groaning at the thought of
another command to obey, LORD, give us as long a list of commandments as You desire,
and we will gladly expend our last breath in attempting to keep them, for we love
You. "15 If ye love Me, keep My commandments.
21 He that hath My commandments, and keepeth
them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father,
and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him"
(John 14:15, 21).
Here are a few of those Rejoicing Texts that Pollyanna's father was talking about:
And, here are a few more verses that Katie Stewart assembled as Promises for Joy:
God's Promises Are Worth Rejoicing About
People disparagingly call someone a Pollyanna, whenever they feel that the optimism
is not based upon their estimation of "reality." But, that is the nature
of our Faith. You cannot see it, but it is substantial. "Now
Faith is the substance [Greek, hupostasis, confidence]
of things hoped for, the evidence of things
not seen" (Hebrews 11:1). Our confidence
that God will fulfill His Word and keep His promises is sufficient to make us rejoice!
God promised Abraham (age 100) to make him the father of a great nation by giving
him a son through Sarah his wife (age 90). Could we rejoice and give glory to God
as Abraham did? "17
(As it is written, I have made thee a father
of many nations,) before Him Whom he believed, even God, Who quickeneth the dead,
and calleth those things which be not as though they were.
18 Who against hope believed in hope, that
he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So
shall thy seed be. 19 And
being not weak in Faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about
an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb:
20 He staggered not at the Promise of God through
unbelief; but was strong in Faith, giving glory to God; 21
And being fully persuaded that, what He had
promised, He was able also to perform. 22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness" (Romans 4:17-22). True, Sarah initially laughed in
disbelief about her prospects of bearing a son at age 90, but it is plain that she
was spiritually ready for the task, when the time came. Do we have as much confidence
in God to Judge Him Faithful Who Promised us-- concerning our particular promises--
to rejoice before we see the actual doing of it? "11 Through Faith also Sara herself
received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past
age, because she judged Him Faithful Who had promised. 12 Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead,
so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea
shore innumerable" (Hebrews 11:11-12).
Better to be accused of being a Pollyanna than to become weak in Faith and give up
on the Promises of God. "35 Cast not away therefore your confidence,
which hath great recompence of reward. 36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the Will of
God, ye might receive the [results of the] Promise. 37 For yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will
not tarry. 38 Now the
just shall live by Faith: but if any man draw back, My soul shall have no pleasure
in him. 39 But we are
not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving
of the soul" (Hebrews 10:35-39).
If we do not draw back to perdition, then our perseverance in the face of apparent
impossibility would put us in the company of men and women of Faith such as Abraham
and Sarah. "And God is able to make all
Grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may
abound to every good work" (2Corinthians 9:8). Rejoicing in the promises causes us to put more stock in the character
of the One Who Made the Promises than the bleakness or direness of our present situation.
"Faithful is He that calleth you, Who
also will do it" (1Thessalonians 5:24).
True Christian Religion is not a series of good works that we put together to recommend
ourselves to God, but it is the overflowing of the Exalted and Sterling Character
of the Amazing Son of God in us working in us "to
will and to do of His good pleasure" (Philippians
2:13). We have been given the Spirit of Christ-- "if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His" (Romans 8:9)-- as part of His New Covenant with us
to cause us to walk rejoicing in Him in obedience. "And
I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My Statutes, and ye shall
keep My Judgments, and do them" (Ezekiel 36:27). He is merely using His Promises like a carrot on a stick to cause us to
seek, to believe, to persevere, to obey, and to sanctify us to the end. "3 According
as His Divine Power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness,
through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 4 Whereby are given unto us Exceeding
Great and Precious Promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the Divine Nature,
having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust" (2Peter 1:3-4).
Conclusion
Pollyannas are accused of not seeing the reality of this present world; and, in a
sense, they are right. Our eyes are not upon this world, but "as seeing Him Who is invisible"
(Hebrews 11:27). Negatively, we will be only some kind of Humanist,
if we are trying to elevate a goodness present in humanity, as if their was some
kind of spark of divinity in all of us. Not so. "For
I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing" (Romans 7:18). We should never let the poetic desire
of worldly men to cause us to "go beyond
the Word of the LORD" (Numbers 22:18).
The sad truth is that man is a hopeless mass of sin. "10 As it is written, There is none
righteous, no, not one: 11 There
is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
12 They are all gone out of the way, they are
together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one" (Romans 3:10-12). If we were left to dwell in the
hopeless reality of our ineffectual wickedness, then "we
are of all men most miserable" (1Corinthians 15:19). But, if Christ elevates us to hope and rejoice in His promises, we have
been truly set upon High with Christ in Heavenly Places! "4 But God, Who is rich in mercy, for
His great love wherewith He loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ,
(by Grace ye are saved;) 6 And
hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in Heavenly Places in Christ
Jesus: 7 That in the
ages to come He might shew the exceeding riches of His Grace in His kindness toward
us through Christ Jesus. 8 For
by Grace are ye saved through Faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of
God: 9 Not of works,
lest any man should boast. 10 For
we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before
ordained that we should walk in them" (Ephesians
2:4-10). Hope is a good thing, because it causes us to hold on past
the difficulty of our present circumstances. If it causes us to hold onto the Promises
of Christ, to trust Him, to patiently endure in the meantime, to love Him, to obey
Him, and to continue rejoicing until the end, then I would gladly be willing to be
called a Pollyanna. "Looking unto Jesus
the Author and Finisher of Our Faith; Who for the joy that was set before Him endured
the Cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the Throne of
God" (Hebrews 12:2). "[Charity] rejoiceth in the Truth... believeth all things, hopeth all things,
endureth all things" (1Corinthians 13:6, 7).
Amen, and Amen!
[For further reference, see "Must There Be a Pre-Tribulational Rapture?"
---New Window, and "Exceeding Great and Precious Promises" ---New Window.]
---New Window
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