Is A Smile Your Style?
Remember the musical “Annie”? It tells the story of an orphan during the Great Depression, a time when there certainly wasn’t much to smile about. One of the highlights is a musical number titled “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile.”
The chorus goes, “Who cares what they’re wearing on Main Street or Savile Row? It’s what you wear from ear to ear and not from head to toe that matters!” (You can watch this peppy number on YouTube.)
It might be odd to recommend smiling when everything is going wrong. But actually, we’re about to discover that’s pretty good advice.
When we are worrying about something, it usually shows on our face. We often think we are looking and acting normal, but stress and anxiety usually manifest themselves in some way. Smiling is often the last thing we feel like doing, particularly in the darkest of times.
But there is a reason why we feel better when we smile, and no doubt it’s one reason we love to laugh. When we smile, there is a chemical response in our brain. This immediately lifts our spirit and makes us feel more optimistic. Smiling soon becomes contagious, and as we smile at people, people smile back at us, which encourages us to keep smiling.
How many times has your day been brightened by the smile of a total stranger? In that instance, when you instinctively smile back at them, you find yourself feeling a little optimistic and your world becomes, just for a fraction of a second, not such a bad place to be after all.
Smiling In Scripture
Smiling In ScriptureSo what does the Bible have to say about smiling?
Surprisingly, the word “smile” doesn’t appear at all in the King James Version of the Bible. Modern translations do include the word a few times, but more often smiling is inferred, or terms like “joy” or “rejoice” appear instead.
For instance, Psalm 126:2 says, “Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” This implies that a smile can actually be a testimony to others of God’s goodness.
Then there’s Proverbs 17:22 which tells us, “A cheerful heart is good medicine,” indicating that a smile may actually enhance healing. And Proverbs 15:13 says, “A happy heart makes the face cheerful” — surely a reference to smiling.
The New Living Translation uses the word “smile” eight times– and in half of those instances, it’s God who is smiling!
- “May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you.” (Numbers 6:25)
- “Many people say, “Who will show us better times?” Let your face smile on us, Lord.” (Psalm 4:6)
- “May God be merciful and bless us. May his face smile with favor on us.” (Psalm 67:1)
- “…And what a relief to see your friendly smile. It is like seeing the face of God!” (Genesis 33:10)
It’s nice to think of God smiling, isn’t it? Do you think He smiles when He sees you? I’m sure that like any father, He takes great delight in His children. Maybe a good question to ask ourselves each morning is, “What can I do today that will bring a smile to my Father’s face?”
It always bothered me that in older movies, Jesus was never shown smiling. He was always portrayed as solemn, sober, almost statue-like. I appreciate that more recent biblical films have shown a smiling Jesus. Think about it: would the little children be drawn to a stern-faced Jesus? I don’t think so. I’m convinced that our God smiles– more than we think!
What Science Says About Smiling
What Science Says About SmilingThere have been numerous scientific studies on smiling, and the results are really intriguing. Way back in the 1800s, a French scientist named Guillaume Duchenne discovered that there are two sets of muscles engaged during smiling. One set, called the zygomatic major, controls the area around the mouth. It is activated voluntarily– that is, we can choose to smile whenever we wish. The other set is the orbicularis oculi, which controls the area around our eyes. This muscle reacts involuntarily and causes those little “laugh lines” we see around the eyes. (Apparently that’s what Mark Twain was referring to when he said, “Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been.”)
More recent scientific studies have revealed some surprising and wonderful benefits to smiling:
- Smiling helps you live longer. Several studies have indicated that smiling is associated with longer life. Possibly your lifespan could be expanded by several years, due to the physiological and psychological benefits that come from smiling.
- Smiling improves your relationships. Smiling promotes feelings of trust and helps produce social bonding. Smiling makes you more approachable. A smile projects positivity and confidence, which most people find attractive. Author William Arthur Ward said, “A warm smile is the universal language of kindness,” another virtue which draws people in. One study even found that people who smile regularly are more likely to be promoted at work!
- Smiling reduces stress. Smiling has been proven to reduce blood pressure and can stimulate circulation, which helps your muscles to relax, relieving physical strain. In a sense, your smile signals the brain that everything is fine, and your body responds to that message.
- Smiling can be contagious. Have you ever been with someone who is yawning? Inevitably you find yourself yawning as well. The same is true with smiling. Your brain notices and interprets other people’s facial expressions, so when someone smiles at you, an involuntary response can be triggered, causing you to “mimic” them. Judy Garland was right when she sang, “When you’re smiling, when you’re smiling, the whole world smiles with you.” (I’m a big Judy Garland fan, BTW. She always makes me smile. You can listen to her here.)
- Smiling can improve your mental health and even decrease depression. A study by lead researcher Dr. Fernando Marmolejo-Ramos at the University of South Australia confirmed the connection between smiling and mental health. He reported, “In our research we found that when you forcefully practice smiling, it stimulates the amygdala, the emotional center of the brain, which releases neurotransmitters to encourage an emotionally positive state. For mental health this has interesting implications.”
Dr. Mark Stibich agrees. “The physical act of smiling activates pathways in your brain that influence your emotional state,” he says, “meaning that by adopting a happy facial expression, you can “trick” your mind into entering a state of happiness. This effect works whether or not your smile is genuine.”
He goes on to explain, “A simple smile can trigger the release of neuropeptides, such as prolactin, vasopressin, and oxytocin, that improve your neural communication. It also causes the release of neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins, which can reduce anxiety and boost your mood. Think of smiling as a natural antidepressant.”
If you’re not thoroughly convinced yet, perhaps this fact will sway you. Ron Gutman, the author of Smile: The Astonishing Powers of a Simple Act, says, “British researchers found that one smile can generate the same level of brain stimulation as up to 2,000 bars of chocolate.”
I would have loved to be part of that study! How about you?
The results speak for themselves. Smiling is good for your health! It’s really true: A smile can change everything! So if you see someone without a smile, give them one of yours.
I’ll close with some more quotes that will hopefully bring a smile to your face:
- “A smile is a facelift that’s in everyone’s price range!” –Tom Wilson
- “A smile is the best makeup any girl can wear.” –Marilyn Monroe
- And my personal favorite: “Life is short. Smile while you still have teeth.” –Mallory Hopkins
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“The Power of Positive Self-Talk”