“He who sits in the heavens laughs.” Psalm 2:4a. There is very little reference to laughter in the Scriptures. The references you can find do suggest that laughter is an antidote to pretentiousness and arrogance. When humanity seeks to usurp the position of God and rebel against God’s wisdom, God’s response is to laugh at their arrogance as seen in Psalm 2. When the world suffers from humanities trust in their own wealth, the best response to overcome our fears is laughter, as suggested by Psalm 52:6-7. “The righteous will see, and fear, and will laugh at the evildoer, saying, ‘See the one who would not take refuge in God, but trusted in abundant riches and sought refuge in wealth!” In Luke’s version of the Beatitudes, laughter is seen as the cure for sadness and despair. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.” (6:21b)
In those brief references, there is a suggestion that laughter can help us overcome arrogance, fear, and despair. When you consider the temptations of ministry, that is not a bad summary of what we face. If we experience success in ministry, however we define success, we are in danger of succumbing to arrogance. It is helpful at such times to learn to laugh at ourselves and our own pretentiousness. When we honestly look at the forces that are in opposition to a faithful ministry, whether it be outside the church or within, it is easy to compromise our call. Such temptation can be reduced to its proper perspective through laughter. The shadow of fear that threatens to enslave us can be pierced by laughing in its face. Thirdly, most of us experience times of woe and despair, when we are overcome by the challenges and exhausted by the demanding hours of our profession. Again, the ability to laugh at such times can lift our spirits.
How often have you found your spirits lifted and found healing for your wounded soul simply by experiencing a good comedy, hearing a good joke, or something else that strikes your funny bone. I don’t know whether laughter Yoga can allow you to regularly access the healing power of laughter or whether finding a good comedian can cause you to step aside from the pressures of the ministry for a healing moment, but we do need to continually find a way to laugh.
