Laugh Again!

“Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry: for that shall abide with him of his labour the days of his life, which God giveth him under the sun.” (Ec 8:15 AV)

We don’t laugh enough anymore.  The world is filled with bad news.  But what were we expecting?  Sure, the reality that sin destroys and the vast majority of souls will suffer hell is a serious matter.  A grave matter.  One the church and her saints should take very seriously.  These things burden the soul. As they should.  Yet, the Bible that tells us to walk soberly is the same Bible that tells us to rejoice.  There is a balance!  Too much of either will cause harm to the soul.  And perhaps more.

As I get older and things change, if there is no sense of humor, this soul will be miserable.  As one get older, things work a little slower.  A potty break is measured in half hours when it used to be minutes.  There is a game of hide-and-seek with car keys or other items of interest several times in the day.  The old ‘blank brain’ event as one enters a room and then promptly forgets for what one enters the room is a hourly occurrence.  A trick knee that goes out as one is trying to be distinguished, walking down and aisle to your seat is something that becomes old hat.  The pocking and prodding that our physicians are accustomed to is something one has to get used to.  Those embarrassing tests that we over fifty must now succumb to become a source of vulnerability unless there is a sense of humor.  On one such occasion, after being on laxative for twelve hours, I checked in for the test and the waiting room began to fill up.  I remarked rather loudly (to get a laugh) that it might no be wise to book all these patients who have been on laxative all at the same time because there is bound to be a mess somewhere.  No one laughed.

It seems to be either feast or famine.  Either you go to a church where people are constantly in party mode and rocking to worldly music, all the while destroying lives because they do not take sin seriously.  Or, there is the church were there is nothing to laugh at or joy over, and their children rebel against such staunch ambiance they gravitate towards the less intense contemporary worldly church culture.  There needs to be balance.  We need to laugh again!