Key 7– HUMOR
I’m talking about attitude again.
Do you laugh, smile, rejoice, praise God (and others), sing, whistle, share, giggle, and see the light side of things? We can be so caught up in the turbulence of our lives that we forget to thank God for his goodness. God has given every believer a unique gift unto himself, that should be used on a regular basis…this keeps us on track. To everyone He gives choice – to everyone He offers joy - but how can we handle the downtime? To some of us he gave, what I call “bouncibility”. That’s what I’ve always called my gift to laugh and bounce back. When we discharge the negative we charge up on the positive. This, I’ve found can be mistaken for insecurity, but if you are truly positive and secure in your faith, your attitude will prove you out.
Perhaps you feel that singing, whistling, and a giggle now and then are petty compared to the onslaught of duty and responsibility you deal with on an everyday basis. Perhaps you don’t see anything to laugh about when your life has its share of despair or trials…if so – then you are just the subject this study is for. God provides joy for those he loves. He provides comfort and security for those suffering and He is our safety net in dangerous times; with it all He gives examples in the scriptures as to acquiring the attitude of contentment and that’s where humor comes in.
It is very important however to realize that all humor is not funny or kind. If we use it wrongly we disappoint God, hurt others and put ourselves in a position of judging. Humor can become sin, which welcomes stress.
Ecclesiastes 7:6 tells us that the laughter of fools is vanity. It has no worth. You have no doubt run across people who have found it fit to laugh at others whether it is how they look, their problems or their lack of ability or materialism. The list is long. It is clear that foolish humor is lacking in godly character.
On the flip side of that Psalms 118:24 teaches 'This is the day which the Lord hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in it.' I like that – we can rejoice in each day…we can! God said so.! I can laugh at that because I need to and of course I want to. It makes me happy to know that the turn of the day is in God’s control. It also makes me glad to know that His plan for me is to have a good day. Will things pop up and mess up my day? Perhaps. Could things go downhill an hour after I rise? It sure could, BUT I have the Lord! There is great power in knowing that though things get tough and scary I can claim victory. I can get through the day, I can overcome the circumstances and I can set my mind on the next step and I can do it with an attitude of joy and confidence.
I’m not saying that you are to don your rose colored glasses and go about your business grinning like an idiot. Instead put on the armor of God. Reading Ephesians 6:11-17 you will find that part of the armor is the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. What do you find in the word? - Joy, rejoicing and gladness along with courage, energy and discernment. Regardless of what enters into our lives we have God’s word that reward is ours.
Matt. 5:12 rejoice…and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven. Why would that be in the Bible? Well, back up to verse 3 and continue to read the account of the beatitudes. Have you ever had a reason to mourn or have been persecuted? We are reminded that a reward awaits us. But…what about in the time being?
How often do you see people rejoice? I mean actually acting happy in their circumstances; observing them praising God, and I mean for the good stuff! People have forgotten how to be glad. We start feeling guilty if we are having a good time or maybe we just don’t believe that these feelings of joy will last and we don’t want another let down. If all that is true then how can we accept Luke 6:22, 23 Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you…when they reproach you…cast out your name as evil (for the son of man’s sake). Rejoice ye in that day and leap for joy! Wow! Jesus himself instructed us to leap for joy when we are hated and abused by others. How could he possibly ask that of us? There are the tomorrows of our lives. Back up to verse 21 and you will read Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh. Things hurt us and cause us great despair yet because of it, if we are living for Christ we will be filled with joy and even laugh. When Jesus taught the disciples what we call the Beatitudes, he was allowing us to know our futures. There would be trials, there would be heart ache, and there is a need for mercy and pureness. There will be persecutions, and in it all we will have the promises of God that says we can rejoice and be glad. If you were to examine your own attitude about your responses to hard times how would you score?
I really believe we are created for happiness but I am also aware that we will endure trials and turbulence in our life.
Several years ago I had been talking with a young man who had been going through a very difficult time. He was very troubled, sad and depressed. I told him how I felt about happiness and we prayed together and we read a few of God’s promises from the Bible. I’m not a Pollyanna. I understand tough times when your world is rocked and security seems distant. I also am aware of God’s power. He offers happiness and joy; reasons to rejoice! He said it – I believe it – and that settles it for me. The Sunday after I spoke with this young man we were sitting across from each other on opposite sides of the aisle at church. The guest speaker said “don’t be mistaken, we’re not created to be happy or content,” (sigh) and then he went on to enumerate all the pitfalls, persecutions and dirty ended sticks that we should expect to receive in life. We will endure. How droll. The least he could have done was remind us that Paul did learn to be content, but that point was not brought out. He could have mentioned that through it all God promises to be with us all the way, but no, he didn’t mention that either. He could have warned us about the junk that would befall us along with the fact that the Holy Spirit is in the believer and because of that we have security and foundation and eternal life! And that – is a reason to be happy and rejoice, but uh-uh, not mentioned. Do you really believe that God wants us defeated and down trodden and then tells us to kick up our heels, leap for joy and rejoice in the day! Think about this – do you fight against the enemy when you are weak or when you are strong? What is your attitude when you are weak against the enemy? Chances are you do not feel confident, strong or feel any sense of delight or happiness yet God wants you strong and confident. Do you find humor in your struggles? God provides humor, delight and joy for His purposes. When we trust in his ways we will see how our strengths are tied to our good will and happiness.
Endure – of course we will endure but how much greater to be able to laugh and smile and look up, always look up and thank Him for seeing us through it all.
We have the ability to reap the benefits of God’s love now. We have the option of using His wisdom in our decisions now and we can have His passion as well as His compassion in our lives now.
What is your choice, to accept your lot with miserable disdain or recognize that you have the ability to tap into God’s pantry of goodness now? Why wait?
Proverbs 17:22 A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones. Isn’t it amazing that scientific technology today teaches us that laughing can help heal the physical ailments of the human body? You’ve probably read how laughter releases little things called endorphins in the brain when you laugh. What good is that? Your attitude; your mindset just might have a lot to do with your own personal healing.
That’s as far as I go. I am not a doctor but I like to read stuff and I read a lot. I am convinced that the encouragement from the Bible to accept the joy of the Lord and put it to work; laughing and peace of mind are written there; not to validate what science discovers but the opposite. If you are ever in doubt, try putting it to the test.
INCLUDE HAPPINESS IN YOUR LIFE – LEARN TO LAUGH AGAIN- CHOOSE IT AND PRAISE GOD FOR IT ALL!
Think about a life with no sounds of joy. A life with no singing, laughter, music, children’s giggles, whistles, sounds of nature – just imagine. What does it do to your attitude when you are aware of these things?
Choose to live with the attitude of humor:
…not indifference
…not cover ups
…not black humor
…not sick humor – but the sounds that make your heart leap; the kinds that travel up and lay at the ears of God.
For sure there is a time for all things.
Ecclesiastes 3:4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance. This is God’s own word. When he says there is a time to laugh do you believe it? Ecclesiastes 3:1 To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:11He hath made everything beautiful in His time…..
Some humor is instantaneous, some contagious, some godly, some evil and to the professional comic, some even planned. Choose to be godly even in your laughter and you will feel blessed and perhaps even pass the security of your faith to another. There are many keys to confidence for the Christian woman and one of them is to stand without giving in to despair. Rejoice in the Lord.
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