Thoughts on Laughter

I just heard a sermon on Laughter. I had a few thoughts to put down, so I don't forget what I heard (out of sight, out of mind).

Eccl. 2:1-2
I said in mind heart, Go to now, I will prove thee with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure: and, behold, this also is vanity. I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it?

Solomon had all this wealth at his fingertips. He could have any worldly possesion that he desired, and though he had all these things there was one thing that he searched and searched for .... joy and happiness. He fell away from Christ (I Kings 11:4 - For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.) He fell away when he was OLD! Not when he was young and didn't have much experience under his belt or hadn't the time to know God, but he had walked with God for a long time and then fell away (be careful not to let this happen to you!) His wives were the ones who led him away from the Lord ... am I being a hindrance to my husband in this area? How can I improve our spiritual relationship so that we can both provoke one another unto "love and good works"? How do you overcome a fear of talking about spiritual things? I'm so afraid to start up a conversation because I don't feel so well versed or so knowledgable in certain subjects. I guess you just have to go for it, right?

How can you make sure not to fall away as Solomon did? Be watchful of your desires, affections and thoughts. What do you find yourself thinking of all day, when you wake up, during prayer, during meals, etc? If your hearts are not thinking on Christ, then you might be in danger. "If we allow our desires and pleasures of this life to overwhelm us we could end up just like Solomon, even though we've been a strong Christian all whole life." I was reading Spurgeon's morning devotional the other day and he said something to the effect of ... if you find that you've lost your first love, try to remember where you've lost Him. Did you loose Him in pray, reading of scripture, communion, etc. Wherever you seem to have lost Him -- look for Him there. He makes a point that if you have lost Him, it will be hard work to find Him again (just as if you've lost a possesion, it'll be much harder to find it once you've lost it, than if you knew exactly where it was.) I thought that was a really neat point.

Pastor was also saying that you should not take delight in, laugh at or enjoy something that is breaking God's commandments! (i.e. story, joke, tv program, music, etc) We shouldn't be entertained by it because it is ungodly mirth and laughter. It made me think of different tv shows that are popular now a days (especially soap operas, since you hear of so many people watching them.) Last week, I had the television on (mostly for background noise, cuz I was lonely and a little tired of hearing my one year old crying) and a soap opera came on ... so I was a little interested in seeing what all the fuss was about these programs. In listen and watching Days of Our Lives I admit, I was a little drawn in by it all. I think what makes it so interesting is that there are about 7 different storylines going on and so there's always something intreging happening. Then I thought of what it was that I was so interested in -- I think that almost 90% of this show there were people breaking God's law, not showing any decency, and was just plain stupid. There are people wearing very provocative clothing trying to seduce men they want (not that they'd like to marry or anything), others are trying to destroy friends and family's reputations by not being charitable and making harsh and rash judgements. I just think that it really says something for how our culture reacts to certain things because these shows are the kinds of things that are being dumped into everyone's heads. And I'm sure that I've only scratched the surface of the disgusting things on tv. People are being entertained by the wrong things. They are forced (in a sense) into enjoying things that should be appauling to them, but they've become so desensitized by it all that they find it funny and want more of it - the tv producers and writers aren't stupid, they know how to catch people's attention and get them to want to come back for more.

Laughter is a gift from God, we shouldn't use it to "spit in His face" by laughing at this that He commands us explicitly not to do!! We should use all of the gifts we've been blessed with to praise and give glory to Him.

One more thought - a little off topic - I was talking to a friend a few months ago and she said something that's stuck with me for a while. We were talking about how depressing the winter months could be sometimes. And she said that she used to think that way too, she'd get depressed in the winter and would act just like everyone else ... but then she thought "What is setting me apart from the world when I think this way? All the rest of the world are getting depressed because of the cloudy weather, their job might not be going so well or their kids aren't behaving like they ought ... how are they going to know that I'm different? How will they know to ask me for the reason of the hope that is in me?" I thought that was such an awesome point! If you're acting just like them how can you be a light unto them in a dark place? How will you be teaching and instucting your children? They will see you like all the rest of them and won't see the difference, so when they get older ... they might not think that doing some of the things they are doing is wrong. Well, I think that I've juiced my brain enough for right now.

There was one other thing I wanted to write about before I go. Later on in Eccl 7:3 Solomon compares godly sorrow with ungodly mirth ("Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.") Pastor said that Solomon is not saying that we should always be sad or sorrowful, but that ungodly laughter is sinful. (vs. 4 says, "The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.") Anyways, that's not really the point I wanted to make ... but Pastor said "There can be no true joy within the Christian if they don't know sorrow." If you think about it .... how would you know what it's like to have true joy if you're always happy and joyful - you'd just think that was how you were supposed to be (and it is how we'd love to be, but in this life it is not possible) -- instead of knowing sorrow and then when the sorrows are over you can have true joy and it really makes you appreciate when you don't have problems. Since I'm sick right now it made me think of how when we get sick we're so miserable that when we're better it makes us that much more thankful for health (even though we do forget about the miserableness of illnesses till we get sick again, unfortunately). Maybe God makes us sick every once and a while to remind us of our dependance on Him in everything, especially if we think of the sickness in our hearts, minds and the world. Then we can be so thankful for God sending His Son for us! I hope that comes out like I wanted it to ... my son is listening to Veggie Tales, so that's a little distracting. Anyways, until next time .........