Then was our mouth filled with laughter and our tongue with singing; then said they among the heathen, the Lord hath done great things for them. Psalms 126:2

I've loved watching The Three Stooges since I was a child. To the rational mind, there is nothing funny about getting slapped, punched and humiliated, but we get some kind of perverse pleasure in seeing Curly poked in the eyes, or Larry pulled around by his hair. I think part of it is because we see it happening to someone else, rather than to us. Part of the enjoyment comes as well in knowing we're seeing an act, not the real thing. Whatever the reason, the Stooges made people laugh throughout their lives, and they still do, even after being dead and gone.

Doctors who know about such things tell us that laughter is good for us; Readers Digest had, and I suppose still has, a joke page called "Laughter: The Best Medicine." The writer of most of the Proverbs, King Solomon, knew that, in the Lord's wisdom, long before the advent of modern medicine. Laughter, researchers tell us, encourages the production of red blood cells and helps fight infection. As Solomon said, it's "like a medicine."

Laughter is a pressure valve. It releases tension, expresses relief and joy, and helps us come to terms with the ridiculous and the sublime. We laugh at things that don't quite fit our mind's idea of how things should be. One of my favorite types of humor is the pun, using words in ways they aren't meant to be used. Crossing a bridge isn't normally funny, until you consider how food gets in your mouth when you have dentures. Or, along that same vein, the very old line that says, "My girlfriend has teeth like stars; they come out at night."

Not all laughter is healthy; if it doesn't spring from "a merry heart," it can be very destructive, just like any of God's gifts when they are perverted. Laughing to ridicule someone, or some group, tears down instead of building up. The whole genre of ethnic jokes, whether about the Poles or Italians or any other nationality, is a mean-spirited attempt to build up one group's esteem at the expense of others. And, truly, it isn't just jokes based on nationality; gibes that target, say, blondes, are just as bad. I not only have enjoyed such jokes, but often passed them on.

Back in my college days, I was a master of the put down, having a laugh at someone else's expense. Since then, I've been on the receiving end of such jokes more than a few times. I still tease people more than I should, though I try not to target people who can't, or won't, respond in kind. One of the defenses I use when others target me first is self-deprecating humor, going along with the joke to deflect some of its effect. Even then, though, some of the barbs hurt, especially when they hit too close to home. We should be careful about even innocent teasing, because there's always the chance it can get out of hand.

The worst kind of humor is that which takes pleasure in other people's suffering, or in moral depravity. I rarely watch any comedies on TV now because so much of the so-called humor is sexually charged. The idea of taking pleasure in the pain of others brings us back to the Stooges; I doubt it pleases Christ to know we take such glee in seeing physical abuse. There is a lot of other truly funny material in The Three Stooges repertoire, but the slapstick is what people remember most.

Our relationship with Christ is a very serious matter. The reality of sin is a very serious matter. That said, though, there is more than enough room in our service to God for a hearty belly laugh from time to time. Both tears and laughter come from God, and there is a time for each, as Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes (3:4). In my own life, I have experienced on a few occasions what some call "holy laughter," an experience of such utter and deep joy that it is more worship than laughter. That must be something like what the people of Israel experienced on being freed from captivity, as the Psalmist described in the verse above.

Laughter is like prayer and Scripture study in at least one way; if you're too busy for it, you're too busy. If we can't or won't laugh, we have serious physical, mental or spiritual problems, perhaps all three. Take time to read a funny book, watch a funny movie or program (if you can find one done in good taste), and, especially, to share a good laugh with those you care about. Most of all, work on that merry heart; only the Lord can give us that! Laughing does matter.

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Beneath His Wings Devotionals - Vol. 2