I love to laugh. Just writing those words reminds me of a scene from one of my favourite childhood films – Mary Poppins, where Mary, Bert and the children end up having a tea-party on the ceiling with Uncle Albert, as he sings: “I love to laugh, loud and long and clear!” Every time they start laughing, they levitate. The hidden message is that laughter can lighten your mood and cause you to feel like you’re floating above your circumstances. I have definitely experienced the feeling of relief when I’ve shared light-hearted moments of hilarity with close friends even during the worst seasons of my life, literally feeling myself unwind, like a tightly coiled spring.
The older I get, the more I seem to value this gift of laughter. However, it is a gift not to be abused. Laughing at people can be cruel and make the object of our mirth feel small and undervalued but laughing with someone can be a way of rejoicing with them and entering into what’s going on in their lives. I’ve had some of my greatest laughs over my own silly mistakes, and I love sharing them with friends so they can enjoy them too. The incident when I mistakenly washed a cooked sausage because I thought it was a potato peeler has become legendary, and I re-share that memory every year on Facebook because I know they will still laugh at it.
Since so many of us enjoy the gift of laughter, I recently took a look to see if it was mentioned in the Bible, and I was relieved to find it was, several times. It is even included in the famous passage from Ecclesiastes 3, which talks about how there is a time for every activity under heaven. Verse 4 includes the words: “A time to cry and a time to laugh.” Proverbs chapter 17, verse 22 is a favourite of mine. It says: “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength.” The word laughter may not be directly mentioned here, but it is impossible to imagine someone with a cheerful heart who never laughs.
I have watched those I love struggle with depression and have seen how sustained periods of sadness can break a person’s spirit and sap their strength. This is why depression leads to tiredness and apathy – because the person is physically and emotionally drained. If you are able to bring a moment of joy into their life, you will often see them perk up and find a little more energy. A good belly laugh can work wonders, but obviously it has to be at the right time, as our verse from Ecclesiastes stated.
In the book of Genesis, we find that both Abraham and Sarah laughed when God promised to perform a miracle on their behalf. However, their laughter took different forms and had totally opposing tones. This couple were elderly, and long past the age when they could expect to bring children into their home. Yet here was God, promising Abraham aged 100 and Sarah aged 90 a baby of all things!
In Genesis 17 verse 17, it says: “Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?” It’s interesting to note that God did not rebuke Abraham for his laughter, because the mirth was part of Abraham’s worship. It says he fell facedown, and then he laughed. Although he doesn’t understand how God is going to bring all this about and he does dare to question the Almighty, his laughter is more of an act of awe and wonder rather than disbelief. It was maybe even a laugh of rejoicing. Abraham believed God’s promise and rejoiced over it. WE know this because in verse 18 he lamented that his elder son born of an Egyptian slave-girl wasn’t the child God had chosen to bless.
In contrast to her husband, Sarah’s laughter when she received the news she’s been waiting to hear all her married life was a laugh of derision. We can almost imagine her shaking her head and muttering: “As if! This is crazy!” Some men were outside her house chatting to Abraham, and she was listening from within. She was perhaps unaware of the nature of these visitors, since she was merely eavesdropping. She had no idea the person giving the promise was the Lord himself. Perhaps she would have reacted differently had she known.
In Genesis 18 verses 10-12, we read of the promise: “’I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.’ Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, ‘After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?’
When Sarah’s laughter was challenged by the Lord, she denied it, which illustrates her embarrassment. (verses 13-15.) However, before we fall into the trap of being too hard on Sarah for her reaction to this news from her holy visitor, let’s remember her years of infertility and disappointment. Also, she was the one who would have to carry this miracle child, and as she looked down at her 90-year-old body, I’m sure she would have felt the impossibility of the task. Undoubtedly, she shouldn’t have scorned god’s promise, but if we were in her place, would we react any differently?
There are definitely both good and bad forms of laughter, but when shared in the right spirit, laughter is a wonderful thing. It can be a form of worship, as was the case with Abraham when he received the promise of God’s miracle, but it can also just be a healthy release amongst good friends. If used wisely, I believe laughter is one of our greatest gifts.