AUGUST 22

Bring Back the Joy!

Proverbs 15:13, 15

RELIGIOUS STUFF CAN BRING a few laughs to the surface. I freely admit, I find some church architecture funny. Correction, I find a lot of it funny. The same could be said for the “business” side of things. I occasionally must bite my lip when I’m in an ultra-somber meeting (where a silent smile could make scandalous waves) and begin to look at the faces in the room. Some of them —and some of the remarks being made —are borderline hilarious. It’s not that I make light of those things . . . I simply find humor in them.

Such humor is not making jokes out of life, it’s recognizing the ones that are there. Frankly, I find some funny material in Scripture. Many of the scenes are a crack-up! Some comments are too. Not all, you understand, and not even most . . . but some. And that is exactly as God planned it. He would never author a book that is colorless, somber, and boring. He is the One, you’ll recall, who led Solomon to write:

A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength.

PROVERBS 17:22

To which I shout a hearty “Amen!” That same wise man also penned these words:

A glad heart makes a happy face;

a broken heart crushes the spirit. . . .

For the despondent, every day brings trouble;

for the happy heart, life is a continual feast.

PROVERBS 15:13, 15

I like those last two words. My plea is not that everybody starts reading the comics or watches all those mindless sitcoms. That’s external, superficial, and silly. I’m suggesting a project far more significant —developing a lighter heart that comes from a confidence in the living God, the loving Creator, the sovereign Lord who gave us humor and smiles every time we enjoy His gift.

Abraham Lincoln is said to have quipped, “Every man over forty is responsible for his face.” So, relax. Smile. Let out a roar of laughter, and your frown will disappear.