Proverbs 17:22 - Meaning and Application

It is good for us to be cheerful. The Lord cares for the body and has provided for it, not only with food, but also with medicine. Here he tells us that the best medicine is a merry heart. He does not mean a heart that is given over to empty, worldly, or sinful pleasure. Solomon has already said of that kind of joy, “It is not medicine, but madness; it is not food, but poison.” Rather, he means a heart that rejoices in God, serves him gladly, and then enjoys the comfort of outward blessings, especially pleasant fellowship with others.

It is a great mercy that God allows us to be cheerful and gives us reasons for cheerfulness. It is even greater mercy when his grace gives us hearts that are cheerful. Such cheerfulness does good even to medicine, as some translations read it, since it can help medicine work better. Or it does good to the body like medicine does, making a person more at ease and fit for daily work.

If we think of cheerfulness as a kind of diversion or recreation, it should be used sparingly and only when needed. It must not become food for the soul in place of better things. It should be used in a wise, controlled way, under proper rule.

On the other hand, sorrow of mind often makes the body sick. A broken spirit, crushed under affliction, and especially a conscience wounded by guilt and fear of God’s anger, dries up the bones. It wears out the body’s strength and leaves a person weak and wasted. We should therefore watch and pray against every gloomy and melancholy tendency, because they can lead us into trouble as well as into temptation.