"I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase"
1 Corinthians 3:6
A Message From the Horne of Africa
Laughter is the Best Medicine
Several years ago, Donna and I were on a SABC fund-raising trip. Suddenly, I burst out laughing. She wanted to know what was so funny. I had mentally visualized a silly situation which really tickled my fancy. But have you ever tried to describe a hilarious event to someone, only to find that he or she couldn’t see the humor in it. That leaves you feeling somewhat deflated. Hmm, since an answer had to be forthcoming, I said, "I just told myself a joke." She queried, "But what if you've heard it before?" I replied, "Well, then I don't laugh!" Then we both laughed.
Long before psychosomatic medicine discovered it, the Bible recognized the wholesome value of a happy heart. "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones," Proverbs 17:22. Folks where I preach have often heard me ask, "Are you happy?' They nod in agreement. Then I suggest, "Then inform your face!" That always calls for a broad smile. Solomon said, "A happy heart makes a cheerful face, but heartache crushes the spirit," Proverbs 15:13. To be emotionally healthy, humor is an essential element of life. One who can't or who refuses to laugh has "dried up bones" or "a crushed spirit."
Ex-Soviet citizen Yakov Smirnoff was once questioned during a speech. "Yakov, did you have freedom of religion in Russia?" Smirnoff replied, "Of course! You could worship any way you wanted to just as long as you did not disturb the other inmates." Doesn't that remind you of Acts 16:25 when Paul and Silas were singing hymns in prison at midnight and the inmates were listening to them? What else could the other inmates do, pray tell? Someone commented on the paltry wages once paid in the Socialist Soviet Union and how it affected productivity. He said, "They pretend to pay us, so we pretend to work." A humorous outlook lightens the burden of oppression. Have you noticed how people resort to lampooning politicians after unfortunate elections when the outlook appears grim? If they did not laugh, they'd have to cry. A word of caution: "Never lose your sense of humor—it will relieve the tension of trying times. Once again, the Bible says, "All the days of the oppressed are wretched, but a cheerful heart has a continual feast," Proverbs 15:15. Better a feast than a famine!
Have you ever seen a puppy chasing his own tail? Have you ever seen a chicken drinking water and lifting his face in thanksgiving to God after every "sip." Have you ever seen a kitten and a puppy at play? Have you ever seen a hunting dog slam on the brakes in mid-flight when he discovered that his intended prey was a skunk? Doesn't that suggest that God, too, has a sense of humor?
The New Testament uses the word "rejoice" quite often, see Philippians 4:4. The word "blessed" in the Beatitudes, Matthew 5, has been translated as "blissful." God wants us to be happy campers on the way to heaven's Canaan land—our promised land. That's good for both the spiritual life and the secular (everyday) life.
In interacting with our children or our spouses, humor and joy are the lubricants of the domestic machinery. A wife once joyfully told her husband, “A wonderful thing happened this morning—a man knocked on the door and said he was a bill collector. So I gave him the whole stack that was on your desk!” Bills taken care of—problem solved. We wish. The old adage shows that whereas laughter is infectious, gloom is isolating. “Laugh and the whole world laughs with you; cry, and you cry alone.” Laughter does appear to be the best medicine. Take it daily with your tablets! Keep smiling and people will wonder what you have been up to!
Love you all,
Al--"the Horne of Africa."