Laughter

If you’re ever going to a new place, you’ve probably turned to Google or Chat GPT and said some version of, “Tell me about _______.” San Francisco or Cuba or the best bone fishing spots (just me?) or whatever. You’re not looking for a deep dive. A deep dive can always follow if there is interest. Quite the opposite. Give me the big ideas, the things not to miss, a quick snapshot. It’s a primer. I’m taking that primer idea to a series of practical theological topics over the summer. No dissertation here. Just a Biblical door opening on a few different themes that touch our life and work. Enjoy.

 There’s a painting that’s made the internet rounds over the past couple decades. The piece, called The Risen Christ by the Sea” shows a strong, joyful, triumphant Jesus. And he’s laughing.

Jesus is grinning widely for one reason: He has just defeated Satan, once and for all. 

But why do you think the painting’s gotten so popular? I think people are drawn to it because they think that if Christ laughed after His resurrection, maybe he displayed a sense of humor throughout his life. And, I don’t know if you knew this, but Christians don’t always have the best reputation when it comes to having fun and laughing.

But did he? Does the Bible say anything about whether Jesus loved to laugh? Or how about these related questions:

• What does the Bible say about laughter?
• Does God care if we laugh?
• How does laughter make a difference in our homes?
• What about in our workplaces?

A few years back I had a roundtable discussion with a few guys I really respect. Pastors, Seminary professors, College presidents. Guys who think hard and know their Bibles. You know the type. And I asked them about humor. In true roundtable fashion, we went all over the map but landed at a few spots.

Laughter is supposed to be a pressure release valve.

Remember this famous scene from Mary Poppins?

Life is hard, and stress is real. Humor, though, can be a safety valve. Not literally sending you flying but laughter does keep you from being overly weighed down. A well-timed joke brings relief to the weightiest moments. Unity to the tensest of conversations. Attention to the most boring presentation. You want to tell me watching Will Ferrell as Little Debbie won’t bring people together?

Laughter reminds us of our full humanity. We’re not simply made to trudge through life; we’re meant to live and enjoy life.

1 Timothy 4:4-5 says “Everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude.” Gratitude, thankfulness, joy, gladness…laughter. All of that goes hand in hand. Rejoicing in life is part of living.

Now, people can take this too far and use laughter to avoid the serious and painful things in life. The Bible gives warnings about laughing when you should be crying (James 4:9). So the reverse is also true—you can avoid full humanity by laughing too much. But let’s not laugh too little either.

C.S. Lewis, who referred to the wrong kind of laughter as flippancy, also said, “The sun looks down on nothing half so good as a household laughing together over a meal.”

We’ve all experienced that. Enjoy it!

There are different types of laughter. Choose the good kind.

The Bible refers to laughter in lots of ways:

• Joy (Psalm 126:2)
• Mocking disbelief (Genesis 17-18, Matthew 9:24)
• Part of having a good time together (Ecclesiastes 10:19)
• Scorn (2 Chronicles 30:10)
• Confidence (Proverbs 31:25)
• “Coarse jesting” (Ephesians 5:4)
• Things being made right (Luke 6:21)

Widen the search to gladness, which is the same idea in the Bible, and you get even more examples.

My old professor and mentor, Howard Hendricks, put it simply, “You could put laughter in Scripture under two categories: positive and negative…I think our danger in our society is that we easily get the two mixed up.”

In a world that cheapens laughter to the mocking tear down on social media, you don’t just bail on the idea of laughter all together. Let’s just choose the right kind.

The God who laughs.

The only times Scripture overtly mentions God laughing is when he laughs in scorn over the nations and their puffed up sense of power. But read between the lines of Scripture. Consider the following:

Children loved Jesus. They were drawn to him. And what type of adults are children drawn to? Those who are kind. Those who smile. Those who laugh!

Some of his teaching, like the idea of a camel through the eye of a needle, or birds that go grocery shopping or flowers that weave clothing. I think we miss some of the cultural humor in Jesus’ teaching. But even if I’m wrong there, remember that Jesus was human, and just as he ate and drank and was tired and had emotions in his humanity, he laughed.

Or consider that God invented laughter! Is it possible that we bear his image well when we laugh well? I think so. 

Christians, laughter, and the workplace.

Walt Kaiser, who was the president of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary said, “Leaders without humor are short lived, because they don't exhibit a joy for their work, and therefore, they project an uptightness about themselves and about the tasks they perform, which then gets transferred into the everyday work of those around them.”

UC-Berkeley put it another way using this headline: “New research suggests that people who laugh together like each other more.” A little bit of Captain Obvious there.

You can’t force it, but good spontaneous (the best laughter always is spontaneous) laughter at work has immeasurable impact.

When you laugh, you show that you don’t take yourself too seriously. What does that get you in the workplace?

• Collaboration
• A willingness to share ideas
• Honest feedback
• A sense of “We’re part of something bigger than one person.”

If I told you there was something you could do guarantee those four results, any wise workplace would do it in a second. And it’s simple—laugh as a team!

Plus, for the follower of Christ, it models something of Jesus himself: his humility. The Bible calls God’s people to humility, thinking of yourself less, because that’s what Jesus did in leaving heaven for earth. In an echo of that, good laughter, laughter that laughs not “at” someone but “with” someone, shows that we’re in this together.

Dial up the laughter this summer.