How would you complete the following sentence?
The most beautiful and beneficial therapy God ever granted humanity is:
- Prayer
- Worship
- Laughter
- Camaraderie with other believers
To be fair, all four of those God-given gifts are therapeutic. But pastor/author Charles Swindoll considers Answer C, laughter, as number one (1).
Perhaps he’s familiar with the research documenting the benefits of an enthusiastic guffaw. Laughter has been proven to:
- Reduce stress, depression, and blood pressure
- Increase the production of HDL (good cholesterol)
- Improve immunity, mood, and sleep
- Improve the function of lungs, heart, and cardiovascular system
- Help relieve artery inflammation and pain
In fact, “the medical world has verified that laughter releases endorphins, God’s natural painkillers, which are fifty to one hundred times more powerful than morphine” (2). Wowsers!
No wonder God inspired King Solomon to write: “A cheerful heart is good medicine” (Proverbs 17:22).
I’m thinking our Heavenly Father also receives benefit and blessing as he takes delight in the laughter of his children–just as human parents (and grandparents!) do.
In addition, when we face the day lightheartedly and find humor even when life is hard, we’re actually expressing our trust in God. That blesses him too.
Phillip Yancey has identified similarities between laughter and prayer–of all things. “In both acts, we stand on equal ground,” he says, “freely acknowledging ourselves as fallen creatures. We take ourselves less seriously…Laughter and prayer unite” (3).
I hadn’t thought of that before. Prayer does unite our hearts as we present together the same requests to God.
Laughter unites us too–young and old, employers and employees–even total strangers. We “become a single group of human beings, enjoying [our] existence”—W. Grant Lee. And if we include God, the joy is multiplied.
But most of us won’t accumulate enough laughter in a day to do much good unless we intentionally seek it out. So the question becomes: how do we jump-start the habit of laughter and make it a morning-noon-and-night event?
Here are five suggestions to get the laughs rolling:
- Purchase a joke-of-the-day calendar or access a humor website like Reader’s Digest’s https://www.rd.com/jokes/, and start the day with a few giggles. To increase the benefit further, share the joke with someone else. Here’s a short sample–easy to remember!
- Watch a few minutes of humorous YouTube videos. You can’t go wrong with Tim Hawkins, Chonda Pierce, or Michael Jr. I can almost guarantee they’ll have you in stitches, even if you watch them all by yourself. But for best results, invite one or two others to watch and chuckle along with you. Here’s Chonda Pierce talking about piano lessons:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjcfdnqSvT0
- Spend time with young children. They laugh easily and so delectably, you won’t be able to resist laughing yourself.
- Gather the family or a few friends to play a laugh-inducing game. You might find some winners at https://www.thedatingdivas.com/50-fun-crazy-family-games/ . Many of their suggestions can be played with just paper and pencil.
- Start a collection of jokes, cartoons, and humorous statements—whatever makes you laugh. You’ll be prepared with some giggle-makers when stress mounts, anxiety flares, or disappointment deflates the day.
Perhaps you’ll find one or two laugh-prompts here to begin your compilation:
- “Normal is just a setting on the dryer.”—Patsy Clairmont
- “Exercise in the morning—before your brain figures out what you’re doing.”—Unknown
- “Youth is a disease from which we all recover”—Dorothy Fulheim.
- “Gardening is cheaper than therapy and you get tomatoes”—Unknown.
- “Grandmas are moms with lots of frosting”—Unknown.
- When Miss Andrews took her first graders to music class, the teacher, Mrs. Judson, wasn’t there. To keep the children productively occupied until she arrived, Miss Andrews asked the class if they knew the person whose name was written in big letters on the board: John Philip Sousa. One little boy raised his hand. “I don’t know who he is,” the first grader responded, “but if his name is on the board, he’s in big trouble” (4).
* * * * * * * * * *
Thank you, Father, for giving us the ability to laugh. It truly is a gift of your grace, refreshing our spirits and opening our hearts to your joy. Teach us to express our trust in you with laughter, defying our worries and fears with frequent chuckles, giggles, and hoots!
What made you laugh recently? Please share in the comment section below!
Notes:
- www.christianquotes.info
- Marilyn Meberg, Joy Breaks
- Philip Yancey, Grace Notes
- True story! It happened at the school where I taught for many years. Teachers’ names have been changed.
Art & photo credits: http://www.pexels.com; http://www.deviantart.com; http://www.pxhere.com; http://www.canva.com; http://www.pxhere.com; http://www.flickr.com (2); http://www.wikimedia.com; http://www.afgsc.af.mil.
From the Inside Out 