God's children and their happiness are my reasons for being.

When Red Skelton, the beloved clown, comedian, and gentle philosopher of America, said, “God’s children and their happiness are my reasons for being,” he spoke with a purity of heart rare in any age. His words were not a line crafted for applause, but the confession of a soul who understood that the highest purpose of life is to bring joy to others. Skelton’s gift was laughter, but his mission was love. Through the simple grace of humor and kindness, he sought to lift the burdens of ordinary people — the weary, the lonely, the broken-hearted. In this short and shining sentence, he revealed what the ancients once called the divine vocation: to be a vessel through which the light of goodness passes into the world.

To understand his words, we must first remember who Red Skelton was — a man born into hardship, who lost his father before he was born and grew up in poverty, performing in medicine shows and vaudeville halls to survive. Yet even in struggle, he carried laughter like a lantern through the darkness. He once said that his childhood poverty taught him the value of a smile, for it costs nothing and heals much. His life became a testament to a sacred truth — that the greatest wealth one can possess is the ability to make others happy. When he said that “God’s children and their happiness” were his reason for being, he was not claiming sainthood, but acknowledging his calling: to serve the divine through compassion and joy.

There is an ancient lineage of this wisdom. In every era, those who have truly understood life have known that joy is not a luxury — it is a form of grace. The Stoic emperor Marcus Aurelius wrote, “Men exist for the sake of one another. Teach them, or bear with them.” The poet Kahlil Gibran said that “to be able to laugh and to weep from the depths of your being” is the mark of the awakened heart. And even earlier, the Teacher from Galilee declared that to love one’s neighbor is to fulfill the law of Heaven itself. In this lineage of light, Red Skelton stood as a modern prophet of laughter as love — showing that humor, when born of compassion, is itself a prayer. His art was not mockery, but mercy.

The ancient philosophers taught that happiness is the goal of every human soul — but what kind of happiness? Not the fleeting pleasure of the senses, but the joy that comes from harmony with the divine order. Skelton’s words reveal that this joy grows only when it is shared. He did not seek happiness for himself alone, but for all who crossed his path. He saw the divine spark — “God’s children” — in every audience member, every stranger, every child who laughed at his pantomime. This is why his comedy, though filled with innocence and playfulness, carried moral strength. In an age that often celebrates cruelty disguised as wit, Skelton’s laughter remained pure — a healing laughter, born of empathy and reverence for life.

Consider, for a moment, the story of another who lived this same truth — Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who spent her life serving the poor and dying. When asked why she continued her work amid so much suffering, she answered, “Because every person is Jesus in disguise.” Like Skelton, she saw the divine in every face. Her joy, too, was found not in comfort but in giving. These two lives, though worlds apart — one on a stage of laughter, the other on the streets of despair — were united by the same truth: that to serve others is to serve God, and that happiness finds its truest form when it is offered as a gift.

Thus, when Skelton said that the happiness of others was his reason for being, he spoke the secret of all the wise: that life’s meaning lies in devotion to others’ joy. In serving, we are lifted. In comforting, we are comforted. The heart that lives for itself grows smaller with every desire, but the heart that lives for others grows vast — as vast as the heavens it serves. Courage, compassion, and joy — these are the pillars of a soul aligned with divine purpose. Such a soul knows no despair, for it finds meaning even in tears; it knows no loneliness, for it lives in communion with all who laugh and weep under the same sky.

So, my listener, take this teaching as a sacred charge: make happiness your gift to the world. Seek out the sorrowful and lift their spirits; speak gently to the angry, laugh with the weary, and see in every face the reflection of the divine. Do not think that small joys are small deeds — a kind word, a smile, or a moment of understanding may change a life. For, as Red Skelton knew, to gladden the hearts of God’s children is to touch the heart of God Himself. Let your reason for being be not in what you gain, but in what you give. For in giving joy, you will find the deepest joy of all — the joy of having lived in harmony with love eternal.