A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance… (Ecclesiastes 3:4 ESV)
It’s Time
I recently attended a play at a local theater. A man seated nearby laughed way too often.
I recently told a hilarious joke. The couple I was speaking to did not respond with laughter.
We have times to laugh… and times not to laugh. And often they are internally determined.
These days we seem to be laughing less often.
Certainly, we have reasons to NOT laugh.
But God’s people have lots of reasons TO laugh that we ignore.
Beyond the obvious HUGE issues that Christians can rejoice about (salvation, forgiveness, hope, God’s sovereignty, love’s presence, smiles), there so many small, non-theological, often unnoticed things that God sends us.
And more often than not, we choose to miss those times to laugh.
Here are some insignificant things that have brought laughter.
My wife and I have a new inside joke. My dog got lost in the living room. I tried to write with a woodscrew. A friend pointed out an error in a non-critical way. A movie scene reminded me of a happy moment, our cat brought a bath-toy to the wrong part of the house, I sneezed in perfect rhythm with a song, I discovered that Mount Gloss, which I thought SHOUJD have been named Mount Glass, actually originally WAS named Mount Glass.
Those things (and many more) gave rise to laughs, not because I was in a good mood, or because I analyzed carefully my overall situation, or because I was overly tired.
I was able to laugh because I worship and serve a God who I know gives me good things. And sometimes I am on the lookout for them.
It’s time to laugh when we choose to realize that God gives us things to laugh about.