Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Laughter the best medicine?


Tears of Joy

God will wipe every tear from their eyes (Revelation 7:17b).

To those who have been deprived of laughter due to circumstances that they are in, God has assured the world that there will come a day to hope for, when God will wipe every tear from our eyes (Revelation 7:17b).

It is often said that men would rather be lost than ask for direction. It is no wonder that in these hard times when unemployment is hitting new highs the suicide rate of middle aged men was 27.3 deaths per 100, 000 while for women is 8.1 per 100,000 (CDC report 2013). What can we do to halt this alarming rise in suicide rates? Where are we going wrong that people lose sight of God?

As the saying goes older but wiser. We all go through youth, when we are constantly learning from our mistakes. When we are young we make many mistakes. But as we grow older, when we have to learn something new, we make more mistakes. Some when they fail they lose hope and give up. It is our ability to recover and fix our mistakes that makes us effectively rebound.

But the enlightened person who can look back and laugh and teach others about the mistakes they made are the ones who can effectively communicate and bond well with the persons they interact with.

Some of the best sermons I have loved were those given by preachers with a good sense of humor. They would incorporate stories and jokes into their sermon that kept me laughing.  It is a way of sowing seeds of faith sprinkled with a little bit of laughter. Laughter enables those seeds to sprout roots in our hearts and in our minds.

Did you know that the production of laughter involves a circuit that runs through many regions of our brain. There are some people who can laugh and others who are very serious, it’s the truth they are just wired differently.

If any part of our brain is impaired, our response to laughter could also be affected. There are some who see God as angry and judgmental, but if God created us in his image, then there must be a side of God that has a sense of humor. 

Let us learn to communicate effectively with laughter. Let us learn to laugh at our mistakes and with God's help build on our weaknesses as we go through every moment of our lives. Let us shed tears of joy when we see the hand of God helping us overcome or achieve some of the biggest challenges in our lives. 

Reflection :- God created laughter to be a release for our joys and a relief from our sorrows


4 comments:

RBP said...

As children we used to have a laughing competition. Appukka's father used to make us sit in a circle and each one was asked to come to the middle of the circle and was asked to make others laugh. The one who could control his laughter to the end gets to be the winner. Everybody gets a turn until the one winner remains.
My grandfather found this game as an effective way of keeping my cousins from fighting and being naughty with each other while playing. He would initiate it, he would say things and do things that would make us laugh. This was a great way for us to forget about all the minor fights and enjoy each others company with the gift of laughter.

Prayer - RBP said...

Father in heaven we thank you for the opportunity you have given us to come to you with our prayers. We thank you for the joy that you give us. Thank you for the laughter of children. Thank you for the joy of serving you. Thank you for your mercies that have made us happy and joyful. Thank you for your many gifts that you give us that make us happy. Help us to be happy in you all the days of our lives. Amen

Anna said...

In some parts of India there are laughing clubs - people get together in public places like parks and laugh - they say it is therapeutic. Most Christians seem to be a bit serious though!

Unknown said...

Great post
I guess we guys need to learn to laugh at ourselves

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