在这个繁忙的现代社会，很多人都会在不同场合表现出特有的样子。比如在公司里，你可能在上司面前笑得像个无害的小白兔且唯命是从，但回到家却变成了心烦意乱的狮子；在家人面前你或许似乎越来越懂得包容了，但下班后仍然会躲在车里迟迟不愿进家门；在朋友圈里，你的照片总是笑得灿烂如花，但实际的心情却像在阴雨绵绵的季节......。或许我们都曾有过这些时刻，表面上笑得阳光灿烂内心却阴云密布，但又不知这样的情绪从何下手梳理。这种强颜欢笑的生活不仅让我们心绪烦乱，长年累月的压抑还容易给我们的身心带来难以愈合的伤害，所谓的中年危机大多源于这样的‘表里不一’，而且越来越多的年轻人也加入了这样的行列。朋友们，你知道吗？这样的状态其实是在暗示着我们内心深处对命运主宰的无畏和自己对‘罪性’不应有的怜惜和持续的纵容。

    很多人其实不愿意承认自己内心有罪，这里所说的罪不是当前法律范畴的，而是指违背上帝律法的意思。圣经中第一次提到罪是在《创世记》4章7节（和合本）：‘你若行得好，岂不蒙悦纳？你若行得不好，罪就伏在门前。它必恋慕你，你却要制伏它。”’，罪 חַטָּאָת/khat·tä·ä（谐音：哈它啊），本义是‘箭没有射中目标’，引申为‘被造物没有达成造物者创造的目标’。这些罪包括的内容很多，具体可以参见摩西五经里记载的内容，但日常生活中常见的无外乎在撒但究竟是个什么‘鬼’？里描述的。每个人都需要正视自己的罪性。强颜欢笑、表里不一正是内心欺骗与虚假的表现。除了欺骗与虚假，还有诱惑与试探、恐惧与焦虑、骄傲与自我中心、愤怒与怨恨、越界的情欲等。这些罪的集合体就是撒但用来搅扰我们的工具，让我们无法体验真正的喜乐与平安。

    我们需要在神面前谦卑下来，祈求圣灵光照我们的心，让我们看到内心的不足与过犯并真诚地悔改才能得到上帝的赦免与医治。说到这里，很多信主的弟兄姐妹和不认识耶稣基督的朋友对这句话理解的似是而非，其实这里所说的神、耶稣基督、圣灵都在表达同样的意思，他们是‘三位一体’的。每个人的生活需要这样的主做每个人的主宰，在这片土地上，无论是谁，他的所思所想无不出于生存或生活的好一些这样的话题，与我们的造物主来讲均无法相提并论，我们若不排除自己的欲念妄求便没有资格享受在这位造物主里面的心灵安慰和快乐。

    当我们认识到这一点，也就是意识到强颜欢笑隐含的原因是出于自己的罪时，便需向上帝祈求赦免。圣经中说：“我们若认自己的罪，神是信实的，是公义的，必要赦免我们的罪，洗净我们一切的不义。”（约翰一书1:9）通过真诚的悔改和祷告，我们可以获得上帝的宽恕，重新开始新的生活。悔改的内容最起码包括上面提到的几个方面，即欺骗与诱惑，试探与怀疑、恐惧与焦虑、骄傲与自我中心、虚假与欺骗、愤怒与怨恨、越界的情欲等，我们在工作、家庭及日常生活中的方方面面时刻都面临着这样或那样的内心挣扎和情绪波动，随时都会让我们陷在其中不能自拔，反复咀嚼，甚至数年、数十年的将这样的思绪积累在我们心里久久不能释怀，甚至会‘积劳成疾’给我们的身心造成伤害。

    上帝是我们的帮助者，祂的话语是我们心灵的良药，会在我们内心面对挣扎时给予力量与指引。这么说并不是将‘上帝或神’比喻为一种虚浮的安慰剂，而是指通过阅读圣经和默想神的话语来更新我们的心思意念，摆脱内心的罪恶，也就是下决心摆脱来自撒但的那些阴暗思想和负面情绪等带来的实际行为给自己内心造成的伤害，要知道正是这些伤害造成了我们在这个世界中的表里不一，它剥夺了我们作为一个见证神荣耀的个体所应活出的样子，人之所以‘强颜欢笑’是因为我们冥冥中意识到那位神仍然在我们心里，我们有理由快乐的生活、也有权利去展现我们本应有的快乐样子，而撒但却在拼命与神争夺我们这份快乐。这种拟人化的比喻是在说：人若不抛掉自以为是的秉性、脾气、个性等等引以为傲的聪明便不会有真正的快乐。
    所以，弟兄姐妹们，你现在知道为什么强颜欢笑了吧？你本是快乐的，去除撒但那些行为的时刻便是你快乐生活的真正开端。多读圣经话语、多了解上帝给我们的应许便会学会如何获得真的智慧和力量。例如，当我们感到恐惧时，我们可以默想“我总不撇下你，也不丢弃你。”（希伯来书13:5）当我们感到愤怒与怨恨时，我们可以记住“要爱你们的仇敌，为那逼迫你们的祷告。”（马太福音5:44），神的话语是我们心灵的盾牌，能够帮助我们抵挡撒但的搅扰，压制乃至去除我们内心本不属于自己的‘恶’，活出快乐、表里如一的生活。

    建立健康的属灵生活是摆脱内心罪恶的重要途径。定期的祷告、读经、参与教会敬拜，都是我们与上帝建立亲密关系的重要方式。通过这些属灵的操练，我们可以不断地从上帝那里获得力量与智慧，战胜内心撒但的作为，活出快乐的自我。或许，你会说：我太难啦、我的难处独一无二，无法释怀......，这时候，希望每个弟兄姐妹都不要独自面对内心的挣扎，而是要寻求弟兄姊妹的支持和帮助。在教会中，我们可以找到志同道合的伙伴，彼此分享经历，互相代祷，共同面对内心的挑战。正如圣经所说：“你们要彼此认罪，互相代求，使你们可以得医治。”（雅各书5:16）

    生活已经够辛苦了，我们不需要再增加一层虚伪的面具。与其强颜欢笑，不如真实地对待自己和他人。接受自己的不完美，承认自己的软弱，这并不是示弱，而是走向内心平安的第一步。试着每天都去做真实的自己，靠主耶稣的话语和真理重新审视和破解撒但和撒但式的作为，这不仅让你感到轻松，也会让你与他人的关系更加真实、更加紧密。

    让我们一起为此祷告！

（如有建议敬请留言讨论，邮箱：[email protected]）

Will You Keep Consorting with Satan While Forcing a Smile?

In our busy modern society, many of us present different faces in different settings. For example, at work you may smile like a harmless little bunny and do everything your boss demands, yet once home you become like a troubled lion; with your family you might appear increasingly tolerant, but after work you still hide in your car, unwilling to come home; on social media your photos shine with brilliant smiles, yet your true mood is as gloomy as a long, drizzly day… Perhaps we have all experienced moments when our outward smile appears radiant while our inner heart is clouded. But living life with a forced smile not only leaves our minds in turmoil, it can also, over the long run, inflict deep wounds on both our body and soul. Many cases of midlife crisis stem from this internal disconnect. Moreover, more and more young people are beginning to adopt this façade. Friends, did you know? This state of being actually hints at our deep inner defiance against destiny, as well as our unwarranted pity and continued indulgence of our sinful nature.

Many people are unwilling to admit that they harbor sin within their hearts. Here, “sin” is not meant in the legal sense, but refers to that which violates God’s law. The Bible first mentions sin in Genesis 4:7 NKJV:

“If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”” The Hebrew word for sin originally meant “an arrow that missed the target” and later came to imply “the created object failing to achieve the purpose set by its Creator.” Sin encompasses many things, as detailed throughout the Torah, but in everyday life it is often seen in the various ways Satan is described. Each of us must face our sinful nature head-on. Forcing a smile and maintaining a façade is a clear manifestation of internal deceit and falsehood. Beyond deceit and pretense, there are also temptations and trials, fear and anxiety, pride and self-centeredness, anger and resentment, and transgressive carnal desires. These collective sins are the very tools Satan employs to disturb us and keep us from experiencing true joy and peace.

We need to humble ourselves before God and ask the Holy Spirit to illuminate our hearts—so that we may see our shortcomings and misdeeds, repent sincerely, and receive God’s forgiveness and healing. At this point, many believers and even those who do not know Jesus might come away with mixed impressions. In truth, the names God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit here express the same meaning— they are One in the Trinity. Each person’s life requires the Lord to reign in every aspect. In this world, regardless of who you are, your thoughts and desires are ultimately rooted in mere survival or the pursuit of a better life; they can never compare with the purposes of our Creator. If we continue to indulge our selfish desires and vain pursuits, we have no right to enjoy the spiritual comfort and joy that come from abiding in our Creator.

When we realize this—when we understand that our forced smiles hide the fact that our sin is at the root—we must turn to God in repentance. The Bible tells us,

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9) Through sincere repentance and prayer, we can obtain God’s forgiveness and begin anew. At the very least, our repentance must address those sins mentioned above—the deceit and temptation, the testing and doubt, the fear and anxiety, the pride and self-centeredness, the falsehood and deception, the anger and resentment, and the overstepping of carnal boundaries. In work, home, and every aspect of daily life, we constantly struggle with these inner battles and emotional swings. Left unchecked, these feelings can trap us, gnaw away over years—even decades—accumulating into burdens that eventually cause real harm to our physical and mental well-being.

God is our Helper, and His Word is the medicine for our soul. When we face inner turmoil, His Word gives us strength and direction. This is not to say that God is merely an abstract comforter; rather, by reading and meditating on Scripture, we renew our minds and break free from the sins that root in our hearts—sins born from the dark thoughts and negative emotions that Satan uses to inflict real damage on us. It is precisely these wounds that lead to our double life, robbing us of our God-given potential to bear witness to His glory. We force a smile because, deep down, we know that God still dwells within us. We have every reason to live joyfully and every right to display the happiness we were meant to have—but Satan is desperately contending with God for our joy. In anthropomorphic terms, if we do not shed our conceited, self-important ways, our temper, and our prideful reliance on our own “wisdom,” we will never experience true happiness.

So, dear brothers and sisters, do you finally understand why we force a smile? You were meant to be joyful. The moment you decide to cast off Satan’s influence is the true beginning of a joyful life. Read more of God’s Word; understand His promises—and you will learn how to gain real wisdom and strength. For example, when you feel fear, meditate on the promise,

“I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5) When you feel anger or resentment, remember, “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44) God’s Word is the shield for our souls. It helps us resist Satan’s disturbances, suppressing and even eradicating within us the very “evil” that does not belong.

Building a healthy spiritual life is an important path to ridding ourselves of inner sin. Regular prayer, Bible reading, and participation in worship are all vital ways to establish an intimate relationship with God. Through these spiritual disciplines, we can continually receive strength and wisdom from God, overcome the works of Satan in our hearts, and live a life of genuine joy and authenticity. You might say, “My burdens are too great, my struggles unique—how can I ever let go?” At such times, I urge every believer not to face their inner battles alone but to seek the support and help of fellow believers. In the church, we can find like-minded friends who share their experiences and pray for one another, collectively facing these internal challenges. As Scripture instructs,

“Confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed.” (James 5:16)

Life is hard enough already; we need not add another layer of hypocrisy. Instead of forcing a smile, why not be authentic with yourself and others? Accept your imperfections and acknowledge your weaknesses—this is not a sign of vulnerability, but the first step toward inner peace. Try to be your authentic self each day. Rely on the words and truth of our Lord Jesus to reassess and dismantle Satan’s influence in your life. In doing so, you will not only feel more at ease but will also foster more genuine and close relationships with those around you.

Let us pray together for the grace to live openly, sincerely, and joyfully!