Laughter is good for our health
Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4: “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven…a time to weep and a time to laugh.” NIV Bible
Extra Reading: Ecclesiastes 3:1-22.
I was told by one preacher that laughter can make a sick person lying in a hospital bed much better. So I started believing that laughter truly has a positive healing effect on our bodies. Laughter is good for our emotional and physical health. May God help us to laugh more. I have an aunt who has a deep, from-the-gut laughter that makes her eyes water and leaves her gasping for breath. People want to forget the sad moments fast, and remember moments of good laughter. There is a belief that laughter can make you forget your troubles, if only for a moment. After facing some of the life’s storms, it is good to have a good laugh. The writer of Ecclesiastes was right when he wrote that there is a time to laugh. I am sure God knows how important laughter is for us. There are times in my home when I long to watch comedy on television and have a good laugh. You come across people who can make good clean jokes that leaves one in stitches. God gives us many chances in each day, to shift our focus from ourselves and just enjoy one another and the wonderful world He gave us. The Book of Proverbs states, “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones” (Proverbs 17:22). We need to laugh more and release some tensions in our bodies. The same book states, “A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit” (Proverbs 15:13). There is a type of laughter that does not even please God. Here is it: “The laughter of fools is like the crackling of thorns” (Ecclesiastes 7:6).
We learn that Abraham and Sarah had a good laugh as well (Genesis 17:17, 19; 18; 12-15; 21:3). I used to think that Old Testament characters were all serious people who don’t enjoy laughter. But Sarah and Abraham have proved me wrong. Laughter then, is good for all types of people. One surprise I came across is that God also enjoys a good amount of laughter. Psalm 2:4 proves this factor. It states, “The One enthroned in heaven laughs…” People who are now weeping will laugh once more (Luke 6:21). James also encourages believers to laugh. He writes, “Is anyone of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise” (James 5:13). I grew up in a village where when women were preparing for a wedding celebration of one of their own, they will sing lots of songs from morning until the evening, and that ends with a round of laughter. On the day of the wedding you will hear them sing songs of happiness at well from where they draw water. My grandfather was one person who also enjoys a good laugh after my grandmother offered him a cup of coffee after working hours. And thereafter the old man will tell us how he met with our grandmother and what year they married, and we would laugh a lot. We live in a stress-filled ear and people should find many opportunities God offers us to laugh a bit, and stretch the muscles of our faces. The Psalmist asked a question: “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Saviour and my God” (Psalm 43:5).
Prayer: O Lord, bless us today with lots of laughter. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen!
Rev. Samuel N. Modise 
