A Rat To A Cheeto

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Proverbs 17:22 (KJV)

A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: But a broken spirit drieth the bones.

What It Is Speaking to Me

Those of you who know me know that I am always good for a quick laugh. I wish I could say it was because I am really good and intentional about following the good part of this verse. That may be true in part, but I also just really enjoy laughing. Humor is one of my favorite gifts from God, and I am drawn to funny people like a rat to a Cheeto.

Laughter is a gift given to us by God, and He, in His infinite goodness, made it something that is actually physically and mentally beneficial to us. Doctors and science have caught up to our Creator in realizing this simple truth: the more we cut up, the better it is for us.

Ironically, I have met many rather humorless Christians. These poor people, whose last name should be "Where-Jokes-Go-to-Die" or maybe "He-Who-Laughs-Less," actually judge me for being "not serious enough" or "too jokey" for a Christian, certainly one with the title "pastor" in front of his name (gasp!).

These disparate views on the gift (or sin) of laughter isn't new. A flyover view of church history shows that there have always been Christians on both sides of the humor aisle. St. Benedict penned in his rule to "not be readily given to laughter," noting that a monk of great humility was one who could live by this mirthless-mantra. St. Benedict birthed Benedictine monasticism, which was a huge influence on early medieval Christianity. Now he loosend over time on this rule but it bore unfunny fruit.

But the other side of the humor aisle had its heavy hitters too. St. Augustine called laughter an expression of genuine joy before God, and the medieval theologian Thomas Aquinas described it a "duty of charity." The internet tells me that an ancient desert father (a monk who lived alone in the desert, a popular movement in the late early church) is quoted as having said, "A monk who does not know how to laugh is not a serious monk."

Ecclesiastes teaches us there is a time for everything; not every moment is necessarily the right time to laugh. But that doesn't mean we need to be like St. Benny and his likely humorless brothers.

Instead, let's laugh. Laugh because something is funny. Laugh because it is good for you. Laugh like it is a daily medicine you take to stay alive, because it might be. Laugh because you want to enjoy the gift God placed in humanity.

After all, we are made in His image. Who knows, maybe God will laugh with us.

What Is It Saying to You?

Do you consider laughter like medicine?

Would you prescribe it to yourself?

What spirituality do you think there is in laughter?

What Are We Going to Do About It?

Spend time with someone who makes you laugh today. Do something that makes you laugh, even if you are alone. Receive it without guilt. Joy matters.