Pastor Mike Nodland of the Christian Fellowship Church in Vining, IA.

My wife had to get her driver’s license renewed years ago. She’s got a pretty smile and when she smiles, her whole face smiles! So, at the driver’s license renewal counter, I urged her to smile for her picture. Obviously annoyed and obnoxiously impatient, the clerk insisted that she not smile. What’s up with that?

I discovered the same is true for passports, not that I’m planning to go anywhere…just curious, that’s all. But the real reason for not smiling is that supposedly the contours of your face are altered, making computer facial recognition difficult.

Where is smiling banned? Our servicemen and servicewomen cannot smile for their official portraits because it might undermine the seriousness of their job. I’m not a gambler, but I watched part of a gambling game where no one smiled there, either. And there’s singer Barry Manilow who “Can’t Smile Without You!” In fact, I found an online resource to learn how not to smile! Really?

Looks to me like the only place you can still smile today is either on candid camera or when you step through heaven’s gates, saved by grace through personal faith in Jesus Christ. And let me tell you, I plan to have a smile a mile wide! So, smile…Jesus loves you!