A
Time To Laugh
Victor Hugo referred to it as “the sun
that drives winter from the human face”…Karl Barth called it the “closest thing
to the grace of God”…and Will Rogers encouraged people to “have
as much of it as they can while they’re here on earth.” Of course, I’m
referring to good old-fashioned laughter… God’s sure-fire antidote for the
world-weary warrior.
Now, granted, life is going to have its
fair share of challenges. Solomon told
us so in Ecclesiastes 3:4. “There’s
a time to weep,” he said and don’t we know it. You don’t have to go chasing down reasons to
be sorrowful…they’ll line up for you. Through circumstances, the news,
relationships, traffic, sicknesses and even the weather at times. Always plentiful and always available, like CNN
or ESPN, 24 hours a day. However, Solomon
added, “there’s a time to laugh” as well. The difference with laughter is that you have
to go to it or at least learn to see it before you reap the benefits.
Not long ago, I picked up an anonymous article entitled,
“Things to do when you’re bored at
Wal-Mart.” It’s talking to people who don’t mind having a good time:
1)
Set
the alarm clocks to go off at ten minute intervals throughout the day.
2)
Move “Caution: Wet Floor” signs to a carpeted
area.
3)
Look into the security camera and use it as a
mirror to floss your teeth.
4)
Ask
other customers if they have any Grey Poupon.
5)
Lastly,
put M & M’s on layaway.
While I’m not sure Solomon had a
convenience store in mind, I can’t help but think it did have something to do
with seeing from a different perspective and responding to it. But rather than the type of laughter that
involves a worldly approach or the ridicule of another individual, it’s based
in a joy that comes from our relationship with God.
Ogden Nash went so far as to say that if
the German people had had a sense of humor in World War II, they would never
have let Adolph Hitler deceive them. Instead, the first time they saw some fellow
goose-stepping and raising a stiff arm to shout, “Heil Hitler,” they’d have
keeled over in sidesplitting laughter.
Really, it’s a God-given appeal to see the light side of life in order
that we don’t get over-weighted by the heavier side.
“The secret to enjoying uninhibited
spontaneity as a Christian,” Neil Anderson writes, “is in removing the inhibitors. Chief among the inhibitors of Christian fun
is our tendency to keep up appearances.
We don’t want to look out of place or be thought less of by others so we
stifle spontaneity with a form of false decorum. That’s people-pleasing and Paul suggested
that anybody who lives to please people isn’t serving Christ.”
In 2 Samuel 6, after the Ark of the
Covenant had been captured by the Philistines, David finally witnesses its return. Upon its arrival, he begins to laugh and leap
in celebration only to get a queen-size lashing from his party-pooping wife,
Michal. Instead of stopping, David
simply kept on worshipping because He knew it was from the Lord.
I can’t help but think he passed on the
message to his son, Solomon.
Maybe even something to the effect of what C.S. Lewis said when he
wrote, “God takes joy very seriously.”
Come to think of it, maybe we should too.
Terry
Risser
Consider reading the Word today:
Copyright 2014 – Terry Risser
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