Laugh, and the world
laughs with you

I bumped into an old friend last week and happened to mention that it was Colin and my wedding anniversary.  Not a milestone anniversary but still a large number meaning we have been married more years than we haven’t.  The friend casually remarked that the reason we were still married was because we laughed together a lot.

There are all sorts of theories about what constitutes a good, or at least a lasting marriage.  And terms like trust, communication, respect and commitment don’t come into Paul’s letter urging the Corinthians to marry, though there is plenty of advice on intimacy and self-control!

I thought about my friend’s comment afterwards and wondered if there was any truth in it.

Laughter is generally agreed to be a good thing.  Obviously not when it’s at the expense of other people or if the timing is inappropriate.  But proper jocular haw hawing is an emotional response that is widely encouraged and has all sorts of positive aspects. A mental health blog I read says this:

“Laughter is strong medicine. It draws people together in ways that trigger healthy physical and emotional changes in the body. Laughter strengthens your immune system, boosts mood, diminishes pain, and protects you from the damaging effects of stress. Nothing works faster or more dependably to bring your mind and body back into balance than a good laugh.”

Colin and I have always enjoyed a good laugh - sense of humour and making others laugh is a big part of both our personalities.  My husband is often to be found at weekends cackling loudly in the bath as he listens to his favourite Radio 4 comedy shows; I love sending texts to my children – mostly with photos of our pets – that they think are a hoot; we enjoy live comedy shows and I still recall a particularly cringeworthy evening in a dingy bar with two Christian couples where we realised we had totally misjudged their rude-o-meters; and who didn’t get through the months of lockdown without the uplifting hilarity of Schitt’s Creek?

I have wondered if we are perhaps a bit superficial, that we don’t take life seriously enough or that we use laughter to hide behind, as an avoidance technique.  Most likely some of you will have caught us chuckling in church on a Sunday.

While the Bible doesn’t make much reference to humour there are certainly references to laughter.  One of the best known is in Genesis when Sarah gives birth to Isaac, she and her husband Abraham no longer spring chickens.  Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” The laughter Sarah anticipated was borne of surprise, incredulity maybe, and also happiness for the couple who had so long wanted a child. That’s very relatable.

As Solomon grapples with existentialist questions in Ecclesiastes and ponders the meaning or meaningless of life, he tells us:

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance”
 
This book of wisdom certainly suggests that laughter has its place in the pantheon of our emotions and life experiences and is perfectly natural, not something to suppress or dismiss.
 
As Job suffers the loss of his family, his wealth and his health, his friend offers him comfort with these words:
 
“Surely God does not reject one who is blameless or strengthen the hands of evildoers.
He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy.”
 
Either he was encouraging his friend with the notion “you’ll be able to laugh about it later” - once the pain and stress subside. Or simply he was keeping his spirits up with the idea that things would, and indeed did, come good and he would remember what it was like to laugh again.  Both equate laughter with hope.
 
While Scripture makes no reference to Jesus laughing, it does say that God wants us to be happy, to rejoice, to be child-like to enter the Kingdom and to build good relationships – all vital aspects of laughter. So perhaps we are a bit immature and perhaps our shared laughter is one of the unfathomable reasons Colin and I are still married. But in God’s eyes, I hope that when I give thanks, it’s ok to consider laughter a blessing and humour as a way of blessing others.

Photo by Gabrielle Henderson on Unsplash