빌립보서를 따라가는 기쁨의 여정 = A Journey of Joy Following the Book of Philippians

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

In the Book of Philippians, Paul shows us the journey of joy, how he can be joyful even in the midst of suffering and how he can sustain that joy forever. The psychological perspective on joy, especially when looking at the properties of joy through Positive Psychology, says that joy can be a joyful and satisfying life, a feeling of happiness, when we exercise the conditions of our representative strengths, virtues, and talents. Logotherapy says that we can be joyful when we discover the meaning of life, suffering, and death. However, in the book of Philippians, Paul enjoys joy that goes beyond this psychological understanding. The circumstances of Paul's suffering did not change, but as his perspective on suffering changed to that of Christ, he discovered joy. When he looked at sufferings from the perspective of Christ and thought(phronein) of them, he realized the true meaning of sufferings. That is, they are sufferings that are received for a short time now in order to enjoy the joy of glory that will be tasted on the day of resurrection, and these sufferings are sufferings that not everyone can enjoy because they participate in the suffering of Christ. This clearly points out the ultimate meaning of sufferings that psychology cannot tell us. The moment Paul realized the meaning of sufferings, he was able to rejoice, and that joy was a joy that was shared with his community. The joy shared with the Philippians church is shown by the change in the behaviors of the Philippian believers in their devotion and tolerance for one another. Also, the change in behaviors occurred for Paul, who threw away all his pride as excrement, which Paul himself had set forth as a condition of joy in which Positive Psychology asserts. Finally, Paul says that prayer is necessary for this joy to last forever. Applying this in practical terms, in order to help a person in suffering recover joy, we need first to help him change his perspective on his suffering situation. We need to help him focus his gaze on the eternal, on the attributes of God. And we need to help the community participate, endure, and persevere together, so that he can achieve a change in his emotional life.