WEBVTT 00:00:03.839 --> 00:00:04.400 Amen. 00:00:04.719 --> 00:00:06.000 Please have a seat. 00:00:06.320 --> 00:00:06.799 Woo! 00:00:07.360 --> 00:00:09.359 So today I'm doing a special message. 00:00:09.439 --> 00:00:13.519 It's been a while since I've done actually a message about humor in Scripture. 00:00:15.119 --> 00:00:19.039 This message is going to be lighthearted, but not lightweight. 00:00:19.519 --> 00:00:32.399 I really want to deal with the breadth of how the Bible describes laughter, how it's used, sometimes to hurt, sometimes to heal, sometimes to conceal things that we're feeling and not being honest about. 00:00:32.560 --> 00:00:37.119 But I think there's a real healing power in laughter, like what this Bible says. 00:00:37.520 --> 00:00:39.679 So I've called today's message, learn to laugh again. 00:00:39.759 --> 00:00:50.159 I will tell you right before I pray, after this service, I'm not going to be able to hang around and greet because I'm catching a flight out of DFW, and so I have to go straight from here to the airport. 00:00:50.320 --> 00:00:54.159 So I apologize in advance for not being able to greet you after service. 00:00:54.320 --> 00:00:56.159 Let's begin today's message with prayer. 00:00:56.399 --> 00:01:06.799 Father, thank you so much that uh we've had this time to worship and thank you, God, for all the groups that were represented here on the stage, ways of connecting with one another. 00:01:07.040 --> 00:01:08.719 That's what makes church real. 00:01:08.959 --> 00:01:19.040 Is as we go from being a spectator to actually being a participant, to get involved in the life of the church, that that's really where our spiritual life comes alive. 00:01:19.120 --> 00:01:30.560 So I pray, God, a lot of people would be making that sort of decision today to move out from anonymity to a place of being known, a place of being celebrated, a place of being loved. 00:01:30.799 --> 00:01:43.040 I pray now that as we gather around your word, that you're just gonna have complete freedom in today's service to speak to our life, no matter where we find ourselves, whether we're in a good place or a bad place, whether we're coming off of a great week or a really sad one. 00:01:43.200 --> 00:01:46.879 I pray, God, that you're just gonna meet us where we are with exactly what we're needing. 00:01:47.040 --> 00:01:48.799 In Jesus' name, amen. 00:01:49.439 --> 00:01:58.159 So you should just know from church history, the church itself, Capital C Church, has had a real mixed history when it comes to laughter. 00:01:58.640 --> 00:02:04.319 Most Christians know that the shortest verse in the Bible is John 11, 35, says Jesus wept. 00:02:04.480 --> 00:02:08.240 But you know that there's no place in the Bible that ever says that Jesus laughed. 00:02:08.400 --> 00:02:11.919 That led people like Chrysostom, he was a fourth-century bishop. 00:02:12.080 --> 00:02:17.520 He argued that Christ never laughed and warned Christians against frivolous laughter. 00:02:17.759 --> 00:02:25.280 Other church fathers kind of followed in his footsteps, Jerome, Augustine, Benedict, all thought it was indecent to laugh. 00:02:25.439 --> 00:02:33.199 They believed that the age we live in is an age of tears, not one of laughter, and things like laughter and pleasurable activities were the products of the devil. 00:02:33.360 --> 00:02:38.319 So they did everything they could under their influence to suppress laughter among believers. 00:02:38.560 --> 00:02:42.159 But then there was a movement back toward including humor in church. 00:02:42.479 --> 00:02:48.879 During the Middle Ages, some European churches developed a tradition that they called Rissus Pascalis. 00:02:49.360 --> 00:02:51.439 And what that means is the Easter laughed. 00:02:51.599 --> 00:02:54.159 So this typically happened the Sunday after Easter. 00:02:54.240 --> 00:03:02.159 And the reason it's timed for the Sunday after Easter is because they believed that God got the biggest laugh on Satan on Easter Sunday morning. 00:03:02.240 --> 00:03:05.360 Because you see, on Friday, Satan thought he won. 00:03:05.520 --> 00:03:16.319 But on Sunday morning, he was shocked to see that Jesus was back from the dead, and so Jesus' resurrection was the greatest laugh ever got because Satan didn't see that one coming. 00:03:16.639 --> 00:03:25.360 So on that Sunday, priests, people at church, they just all told jokes to celebrate God's best joke that he got over on Satan. 00:03:25.520 --> 00:03:31.360 So the question is, are we meant to go through life with a gloomy face, or we is it okay to laugh? 00:03:31.599 --> 00:03:34.719 John Wesley, he was one of the founders of the Methodist movement. 00:03:34.879 --> 00:03:38.319 He used to say sour godliness is the devil's religion. 00:03:38.719 --> 00:03:41.599 Charles Spurgeon was known as the Prince of Preachers. 00:03:41.680 --> 00:03:45.759 He was often criticized because he used humor in his sermons. 00:03:45.919 --> 00:03:47.599 But he defended his use of humor. 00:03:47.759 --> 00:03:56.479 He said, it's because a good laugh breaks down the barriers between people, and not just that, that cheerfulness has a legitimate place in the church. 00:03:56.719 --> 00:04:07.039 So what I'd like to do today is explore what the Bible says about laughter and help us see why it's not only beneficial, but absolutely needed for this broken world in which we live. 00:04:07.280 --> 00:04:10.879 But what better way to start a message on laughter than with a good laugh? 00:04:11.039 --> 00:04:20.160 I'll tell you, over the years I've collected uh church announcements, kind of bloopers that make it into church publications that I have found funny. 00:04:20.319 --> 00:04:24.959 Like, for example, at the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be what is hell? 00:04:25.199 --> 00:04:27.439 Come early and listen to our choir practice. 00:04:27.600 --> 00:04:30.720 So evidently that prepares you for that sermon. 00:04:30.959 --> 00:04:31.759 Or how about this? 00:04:32.000 --> 00:04:35.519 Potluck Supper, prayer and medication to follow. 00:04:35.680 --> 00:04:37.279 I've been to a few of those. 00:04:37.519 --> 00:04:38.800 There's also this one. 00:04:39.040 --> 00:04:41.759 Somebody did not think this announcement through. 00:04:42.000 --> 00:04:46.319 Thursday at 5 p.m., there'll be a meeting of the Little Mothers Club. 00:04:46.480 --> 00:04:50.240 All wishing to become little mothers, please see the minister in his study. 00:04:50.560 --> 00:04:53.279 Or, how about this? 00:04:53.439 --> 00:04:54.560 This is one of my favorites. 00:04:54.720 --> 00:05:00.639 Bertha Belch, a missionary from Africa, will be speaking tonight at Calvary Memorial Church in Racine. 00:05:00.959 --> 00:05:04.639 Come tonight and hear Bertha Belch all the way from Africa. 00:05:06.720 --> 00:05:07.759 And then there's this. 00:05:07.920 --> 00:05:10.079 Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. 00:05:10.160 --> 00:05:13.519 It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. 00:05:13.680 --> 00:05:15.279 Don't forget your husbands. 00:05:15.600 --> 00:05:19.279 So I'll tell you, I grew up Baptist. 00:05:19.519 --> 00:05:21.920 So I have more Baptist jokes than I have anything else. 00:05:22.079 --> 00:05:26.000 For the record, I have no ill will toward Baptists. 00:05:26.160 --> 00:05:33.439 But with that said, a Hindu yogi, a Jewish rabbi, and a Baptist preacher, they were traveling together in India. 00:05:33.600 --> 00:05:40.079 They came to an inn where they need to spend the night, but they were informed that the inn only had room for two in one room. 00:05:40.240 --> 00:05:43.360 The remaining traveler would have to go out and sleep in the barn. 00:05:43.519 --> 00:05:46.480 Well, the Hindu graciously volunteered to sleep in the barn. 00:05:46.560 --> 00:05:50.720 As the rabbi and the Baptist preacher are getting ready to go to bed, they hear a knock on the door. 00:05:50.879 --> 00:05:53.759 The Hindu's there and he says, I'm sorry, I can't sleep in the barn. 00:05:53.920 --> 00:05:55.120 There's a cow out there. 00:05:59.040 --> 00:06:01.279 So the rabbi volunteered to take his place. 00:06:01.519 --> 00:06:05.040 Well, the rabbi goes, the Hindu and the Baptist are getting ready for bed. 00:06:05.120 --> 00:06:06.480 They hear another knock on the door. 00:06:06.639 --> 00:06:07.519 It's the rabbi. 00:06:07.600 --> 00:06:09.759 He says, I'm sorry, I can't sleep in the barn. 00:06:09.920 --> 00:06:11.040 There's a pig out there. 00:06:11.199 --> 00:06:14.480 It's against my religion to sleep with an unclean animal. 00:06:14.639 --> 00:06:19.600 Well, then the Baptist preacher said, Hey, I got no holy restrictions placed on me at all. 00:06:19.759 --> 00:06:21.360 I'll go sleep in the barn. 00:06:21.600 --> 00:06:24.240 Well, a few minutes later, there's a third knock on the door. 00:06:24.399 --> 00:06:26.160 The Hindu and rabbi opened the door. 00:06:26.240 --> 00:06:28.079 This time it's the cow and the pig. 00:06:28.399 --> 00:06:36.480 So today's message, today's message is for everybody whose circumstances have gotten the better of them. 00:06:36.639 --> 00:06:42.879 It's for people who've watched the joy slowly drain out of their life, and especially for those who've forgotten how to laugh. 00:06:42.959 --> 00:06:46.160 So let's begin with God's antidote for the heavies. 00:06:46.319 --> 00:06:48.000 Notice this verse from the Psalms. 00:06:48.240 --> 00:06:53.360 So those who went off with heavy hearts will come home laughing with armloads of blessings. 00:06:53.600 --> 00:06:57.120 So the first thing I tell you about laughter is simply this laughter is power. 00:06:57.360 --> 00:06:58.720 The Bible describes it like this. 00:06:58.879 --> 00:07:06.399 Hannah prayed, I'm bursting with good news, I'm walking on air, I'm laughing at my rivals, I'm dancing my salvation. 00:07:06.639 --> 00:07:10.959 Now you probably recognize the great poet's name, Maya Angelo. 00:07:11.519 --> 00:07:14.160 She was a great singer, she was a dancer. 00:07:14.319 --> 00:07:15.199 She worked with Dr. 00:07:15.360 --> 00:07:17.360 King during the civil rights movement. 00:07:17.519 --> 00:07:18.639 She wrote an opera. 00:07:19.040 --> 00:07:26.560 In one of her autobiographical works, it's called I Know Why the Cage Birds Sing, she wrote about laughter. 00:07:26.720 --> 00:07:32.639 And in particular, she said this You know, in slavery time, the slaves were not allowed to laugh on many plantations. 00:07:32.800 --> 00:07:34.240 There was a rule against it. 00:07:34.399 --> 00:07:36.560 You can see why there might have been such a rule. 00:07:36.720 --> 00:07:42.399 The fear, I suppose, that if the slaves started laughing, then they'd end up laughing at their masters. 00:07:42.560 --> 00:07:50.079 Or maybe worse than that, if the slaves started laughing, the laughter might become infectious, and the master would laugh with a slave. 00:07:50.319 --> 00:07:55.759 How can you laugh with a person one day and have the person be a slave the next day? 00:07:56.000 --> 00:08:04.319 So what she did is she went on to describe this practice that developed on certain plantations when the urge to laugh became absolutely irrepressible. 00:08:04.480 --> 00:08:06.639 They had what they called a laughter barrel. 00:08:06.800 --> 00:08:16.959 And so you'd go to this barrel on the pretext of getting something out of it, you'd lean deep in, and then when you just couldn't hold it any longer, you just laughed and laughed and laughed. 00:08:17.120 --> 00:08:21.439 Now I thought about that and I said, how can imagine being afraid to laugh? 00:08:21.600 --> 00:08:22.240 Imagine that. 00:08:22.480 --> 00:08:29.360 I'm afraid to laugh, afraid of how my master might interpret my laughter, which brings up an important point. 00:08:29.920 --> 00:08:34.799 People with power don't like laughter, especially laughter at their expense. 00:08:35.120 --> 00:08:42.799 Dictators and authoritarian systems have often feared comedy because it punctures the illusion of absolute power. 00:08:43.039 --> 00:08:50.960 For example, did you know in history that Adolf Hitler absolutely hated Charlie Chaplin because of his portrayal in The Great Dictator? 00:08:51.279 --> 00:08:57.120 Dictators can't tolerate ridicule because laughter makes them appear smaller and less powerful. 00:08:57.279 --> 00:08:58.960 But there's something else about laughter. 00:08:59.200 --> 00:09:00.879 Laughter is perspective. 00:09:01.120 --> 00:09:05.919 Jesus said it like this: Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. 00:09:06.240 --> 00:09:15.120 So Jesus knew that one of the signs that we're emerging from a time of loss, a time of sadness, is we begin to laugh again. 00:09:15.440 --> 00:09:19.759 It indicates that something is healing, that we're feeling better. 00:09:20.000 --> 00:09:21.600 So why does laughter help? 00:09:22.080 --> 00:09:26.879 Because when you learn to laugh at your setbacks, you're no longer feeling sorry for yourself. 00:09:27.120 --> 00:09:31.039 There's a sense in which religion and comedy serve the same purpose. 00:09:31.279 --> 00:09:40.080 Both help us to overcome tragedy, both help provide strength to face adversity, and both help us to deal with the insecurities and uncertainties of life. 00:09:40.320 --> 00:09:42.320 Good humor gives perspective. 00:09:42.480 --> 00:09:51.200 Because you see, in order to joke about something, you have to kind of extract yourself emotionally from that situation to look at it in a different way. 00:09:51.360 --> 00:09:53.120 So there's a sense of distance. 00:09:53.200 --> 00:09:58.080 I can bring a sense of distance between me and being immersed deeply in my problem. 00:09:58.240 --> 00:10:03.840 So having a sense of humor and possessing the ability to laugh, they're priceless gifts from God. 00:10:04.240 --> 00:10:09.120 They can make a huge difference in how we respond when things get really tough in our life. 00:10:09.279 --> 00:10:14.639 And sometimes there's unintended humor in very difficult, intense situations. 00:10:14.960 --> 00:10:19.840 You know, I've done a ton of funerals, I mean hundreds of funerals in my years as a pastor. 00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:30.639 And one time I was doing a funeral down at Restland in their little Wildwood chapel, uh, which is on the grounds there, and it was for a manager at Fujitsu. 00:10:30.720 --> 00:10:31.759 His name was Mark. 00:10:31.919 --> 00:10:35.759 I had led Mark to Christ maybe about three or four weeks before he died. 00:10:35.919 --> 00:10:39.600 And so I go and I'm there and I'm I'm getting ready to do his funeral. 00:10:39.759 --> 00:10:47.039 And the family and I had talked, and and the wife and Mark, they were they were both fans of the uh singer-songwriter Carol King. 00:10:47.120 --> 00:10:48.080 Do you remember her name? 00:10:48.240 --> 00:10:49.679 So they love Carol King. 00:10:49.759 --> 00:10:50.559 They loved her music. 00:10:50.720 --> 00:10:55.200 And they decided they'd play a song of Carol's during the funeral. 00:10:55.360 --> 00:10:59.840 So they the family had brought a boom box, which you know is a big cassette player and all that. 00:10:59.919 --> 00:11:09.039 And and at the right time, after I've kind of done the eulogy, dad walks forward and he puts the cassette into the boom box and he presses play. 00:11:09.840 --> 00:11:14.320 Well, you know, as soon as the song began to play, I realized I recognize this song. 00:11:14.480 --> 00:11:16.159 Here's what the lyric said. 00:11:16.399 --> 00:11:17.840 And it's too late, baby. 00:11:18.000 --> 00:11:18.960 Now it's too late. 00:11:19.039 --> 00:11:20.879 Though we really did try to make it. 00:11:21.039 --> 00:11:25.039 Something inside has died, and I can't hide, and I just can't fake it. 00:11:25.279 --> 00:11:34.320 And I'm sitting there behind the pulpit thinking, okay, it fits, but this is the weirdest song I've ever heard played at a funeral, right? 00:11:34.399 --> 00:11:35.919 I mean, just bizarre. 00:11:36.399 --> 00:11:42.799 And I lean around the pulpit and I look at the family and they're all shaking uncontrollably with laughter. 00:11:43.039 --> 00:11:46.480 You see, dad had put the cassette in backwards. 00:11:46.720 --> 00:11:49.600 And so it was playing the wrong song. 00:11:50.159 --> 00:11:58.879 And so dad gets up really sheepish, totally embarrassed, walks to the front, hits stop, looks at the crowd, and he said, Mark would have loved it. 00:11:59.200 --> 00:12:07.440 And so instead of it being an embarrassing or humiliating moment or people saying he ruined the memorial, it ended up being a gift from God. 00:12:07.600 --> 00:12:12.720 Because it helped put things in perspective and reminded everybody of the happiness they shared with Mark. 00:12:12.799 --> 00:12:14.159 It was a beautiful thing. 00:12:14.399 --> 00:12:15.919 Well, there's also this about laughter. 00:12:16.080 --> 00:12:17.519 Laughter is perseverance. 00:12:17.679 --> 00:12:20.879 The Bible says there's a time to weep and a time to laugh. 00:12:21.120 --> 00:12:25.600 We can't forget suffering, but neither can we neglect laughter. 00:12:25.840 --> 00:12:28.559 Laughter is kind of like changing a baby's diaper. 00:12:28.720 --> 00:12:33.519 It's not going to permanently solve anything, but it makes things a whole lot more bearable for a while. 00:12:33.759 --> 00:12:36.720 So let's face it, death and disease are a part of being human. 00:12:36.879 --> 00:12:40.960 Yet we often respond to those things with fear and discomfort and avoidance. 00:12:41.120 --> 00:12:45.120 But have you ever considered the link between crying and laughing? 00:12:45.519 --> 00:12:48.799 Truth be told, sometimes it's hard to tell the difference. 00:12:49.039 --> 00:12:53.679 How often do you see tears streaming down the face of somebody who's had a good laugh? 00:12:54.000 --> 00:12:59.679 And how often have you looked at somebody who had a good laugh after they had a good cry? 00:12:59.919 --> 00:13:03.840 Even our facial expressions when we're laughing and crying are very similar. 00:13:04.000 --> 00:13:07.600 There have been a few times I've leaned over and say, Are you laughing or are you crying? 00:13:07.679 --> 00:13:08.960 Because I couldn't tell. 00:13:09.200 --> 00:13:11.039 It looked the same to me. 00:13:11.279 --> 00:13:17.200 The last time you had a good cry, you probably felt drained, but you probably also felt better. 00:13:17.440 --> 00:13:20.080 And the same thing is true when you had a good laugh. 00:13:20.320 --> 00:13:24.720 So laughter touches a place deep within us, the same place that tears come from. 00:13:24.879 --> 00:13:26.960 It touches something deep in our souls. 00:13:27.200 --> 00:13:29.519 There are also other links between laughter and crying. 00:13:29.600 --> 00:13:36.080 They're both cathartic, they're both effective in releasing stress and tension, but there's a difference between the two as well. 00:13:36.320 --> 00:13:40.960 Tears tend to turn us inward, laughter tends to turn us outward. 00:13:41.120 --> 00:13:42.559 And we talked about this last week. 00:13:42.639 --> 00:13:50.159 I did a message on loneliness, and I talked about the difference between an inward-downward orientation versus an upward-outward orientation. 00:13:50.399 --> 00:13:55.039 Now, don't get me wrong, crying is important and we should not suppress it. 00:13:55.200 --> 00:13:58.879 But there comes a time in our life when we need a new perspective on our pain. 00:13:59.120 --> 00:14:05.279 The ability to laugh demonstrates that you're able to look at your situation in a whole different light. 00:14:05.440 --> 00:14:10.559 But there's also something else you need to understand about laughter, and that is the benefits of laughter. 00:14:10.879 --> 00:14:15.279 So there's this guy who wrote a book, I have it in my library, it's called The Humor of Christ. 00:14:15.440 --> 00:14:21.120 And one of the things he points out in his book is that Jewish humor is humor by exaggeration. 00:14:21.440 --> 00:14:25.759 Jewish like to use intentional exaggeration in order to get a laugh. 00:14:25.919 --> 00:14:29.600 And once you understand that, you can see humor in the teaching of Christ. 00:14:29.759 --> 00:14:35.600 So Jesus was once teaching about how easy it is to accuse other people before we look at ourselves. 00:14:35.759 --> 00:14:36.799 And this is what he said. 00:14:36.960 --> 00:14:38.240 He uses humor to make the point. 00:14:38.399 --> 00:14:44.159 He says, Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 00:14:44.320 --> 00:14:49.039 How can you say to your brother, let me take the speck out of your eye while the whole time there's a plank in your own eye? 00:14:49.200 --> 00:14:50.080 You hypocrite. 00:14:50.240 --> 00:14:55.039 First take the plank out of your own eye, and then you'll see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. 00:14:55.200 --> 00:14:57.360 So this is Jewish humor, pure and simple. 00:14:57.519 --> 00:14:58.960 It's humor by exaggeration. 00:14:59.120 --> 00:15:09.120 Jesus says, imagine somebody leaning over, somebody says, I got a speck in my eye, and this guy's leaning over trying to get the speck out, but he's got this massive 2x4 coming out of his own eye. 00:15:09.279 --> 00:15:10.399 That's a problem. 00:15:10.639 --> 00:15:19.519 And Jesus is using humor to make the point of how often it is we accuse other people of the sins we don't want to own in ourselves. 00:15:19.759 --> 00:15:20.639 That's the point. 00:15:20.799 --> 00:15:23.519 On another occasion, Jesus said this, Matthew 23. 00:15:23.679 --> 00:15:28.639 He told the Pharisees that they would strain at a gnat and swallow a camel. 00:15:28.879 --> 00:15:32.320 Now let me explain this illustration so you get it. 00:15:32.720 --> 00:15:34.320 The Pharisees were purists. 00:15:34.480 --> 00:15:38.240 They wanted to follow the Levitical Purde. 00:15:38.399 --> 00:15:41.039 And so they wanted to avoid ever eating anything impure. 00:15:41.120 --> 00:15:49.679 So what they would do is when they're pouring water, they'd put a piece of cloth over the top of the glass, and then they would pour the water into it to strain out a gnat. 00:15:50.000 --> 00:15:53.440 A gnat is the smallest of the unclean creatures. 00:15:53.600 --> 00:15:55.679 And so to swallow a gnat would make you unclean. 00:15:55.759 --> 00:16:00.480 So they want to strain that out, but Jesus said, while you're straining out gnats, you're swallowing camels. 00:16:00.799 --> 00:16:03.600 The camel is the largest of the unclean animals. 00:16:03.840 --> 00:16:07.360 So you focus on the minutiae, but you lose the bigger picture. 00:16:07.519 --> 00:16:08.240 You see that? 00:16:08.399 --> 00:16:12.960 And I'm sure the moment Jesus says that, the disciples look at each other, hit each other in the ribs. 00:16:13.120 --> 00:16:13.840 Good one, Jesus. 00:16:14.000 --> 00:16:14.480 You know what I mean? 00:16:14.559 --> 00:16:15.600 Because that's what he's doing. 00:16:15.759 --> 00:16:25.039 He's using humor to make a point to help people understand how silly we can be focusing on the minutiae and losing the bigger picture. 00:16:25.200 --> 00:16:27.120 We're all made in the image of God. 00:16:27.600 --> 00:16:29.120 That means we're beings like God. 00:16:29.279 --> 00:16:31.039 We think, we feel, we act. 00:16:31.200 --> 00:16:35.120 And among the feelings we possess, they all reflect something of God. 00:16:35.279 --> 00:16:39.840 Our love does, our anger does, our joy does, and so does our laughter. 00:16:40.080 --> 00:16:41.039 Think about this. 00:16:41.200 --> 00:16:43.919 You don't have to teach a baby to laugh, do you? 00:16:44.159 --> 00:16:47.200 Before they say mommy or daddy, they know how to laugh. 00:16:47.279 --> 00:16:48.240 It's spontaneous. 00:16:48.399 --> 00:16:50.080 It's a part of the way they're wired up. 00:16:50.240 --> 00:16:59.279 In fact, scientists tell us that infants begin to laugh when they're tickled or stimulated as early as 17 days old. 00:16:59.919 --> 00:17:05.920 So when you think about it, our first language, crying and laughing. 00:17:06.160 --> 00:17:12.480 That's the only way we can communicate until we can learn to say words like mommy and daddy and other things. 00:17:12.720 --> 00:17:16.880 Bottom line, children laugh far more frequently than many adults. 00:17:17.039 --> 00:17:20.880 Small children display a remarkable range of facial expressions. 00:17:21.119 --> 00:17:24.480 By the time we're adults, we settle into like two or three. 00:17:24.720 --> 00:17:26.079 So work on that, will you? 00:17:26.240 --> 00:17:27.279 Alright, so here we go. 00:17:27.359 --> 00:17:28.160 Here's another thing. 00:17:28.319 --> 00:17:29.759 You'll feel better. 00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:31.680 The book of Proverbs reminds us of this. 00:17:31.839 --> 00:17:36.240 Laughter does good like a medicine, but a downcast spirit dries up the bones. 00:17:36.480 --> 00:17:40.960 It's a medical fact that when you laugh, endorphins are released in your brain. 00:17:41.279 --> 00:17:43.759 Endorphins are nature's painkiller. 00:17:44.160 --> 00:17:46.720 It's the way God has built your body. 00:17:46.960 --> 00:17:54.480 In addition to that, a good bout of laughter is like a safety valve because it shuts off the flow of negative stress hormones in our bodies. 00:17:54.640 --> 00:17:55.440 Did you know that? 00:17:55.680 --> 00:17:56.400 Or how about this? 00:17:56.559 --> 00:17:56.799 Dr. 00:17:56.880 --> 00:18:02.000 William Fry Jr., he's the of the Department of Psychiatry at Stanford Medical School. 00:18:02.240 --> 00:18:09.759 He's found that a brief period of intense laughter raises the heart rate in ways comparable to strenuous exercise. 00:18:09.920 --> 00:18:11.440 So you understand what that means. 00:18:11.599 --> 00:18:16.799 When Brenda's giving me a hard time, I can just say, hey, I'm exercising. 00:18:16.880 --> 00:18:18.640 I'm watching ridiculousness. 00:18:18.799 --> 00:18:22.720 I'm laughing and I'm getting an internal workout at the same time. 00:18:22.960 --> 00:18:32.240 So it seems that study after study is validating this 3,000-year-old principle from the book of Proverbs that laughter works good like a medicine. 00:18:32.480 --> 00:18:34.480 There's a name you ought to recognize from history. 00:18:34.640 --> 00:18:36.319 His name was Norman Cousins. 00:18:36.559 --> 00:18:43.920 Norman Cousins had a serious connective tissue disease that made all of his bones, his joints, his spine ache. 00:18:44.160 --> 00:18:48.240 He wrote a book about his experience called Anatomy of an Illness. 00:18:48.400 --> 00:18:50.400 It's a New York Times bestseller. 00:18:51.200 --> 00:18:56.240 Cousins had read a book about the effect of negative emotions on body chemistry. 00:18:56.400 --> 00:18:59.680 But it made him think what about positive emotions? 00:18:59.839 --> 00:19:08.799 If negative emotions can impact me physiologically, can love and hope and laughter have a lasting positive and therapeutic effect? 00:19:09.039 --> 00:19:10.240 So here's what he did. 00:19:10.480 --> 00:19:23.920 Cousins at the time was taking maximum doses of painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs, which all it did is give him severe hives, nausea, and they weren't really helping him, and they were certainly not curing his illness. 00:19:24.079 --> 00:19:28.480 So he decided to use himself as a guinea pig with his doctor's permission. 00:19:28.720 --> 00:19:37.279 He discontinued using all of his prescription drugs and decided to improve his body chemistry by infusing himself with positive emotions. 00:19:37.440 --> 00:19:38.640 So he rented movies. 00:19:38.799 --> 00:19:43.119 In his day, it was like the Marx Brothers and candid camera reruns. 00:19:43.440 --> 00:19:44.640 He read funny books. 00:19:44.799 --> 00:19:46.640 He went to see comedies at the theater. 00:19:46.799 --> 00:19:48.880 He spent time with friends who liked to laugh. 00:19:48.960 --> 00:19:55.920 And what he discovered is that ten minutes of hearty belly laughs produced two hours of pain-free sleep. 00:19:56.160 --> 00:20:01.599 Scientifically, he decided to document the effects laughter was having on his body. 00:20:01.759 --> 00:20:10.079 In particular, he would take his sedimentation rate, they call it sed rate for short, before and after every laughing episode. 00:20:10.319 --> 00:20:18.799 Each time he laughed, there was a drop of at least five points in his sedate, which he said was cumulative over several episodes. 00:20:19.039 --> 00:20:26.160 His conclusion was there's a physiological basis for the ancient belief that laughter does good like a medicine. 00:20:26.319 --> 00:20:28.480 And I can personally attest to this too. 00:20:28.720 --> 00:20:34.960 After open heart surgery, my family said that while I was still sedated, that evidently I'm quite the comedian. 00:20:35.119 --> 00:20:39.680 So I'm in intensive care, my breathing tube has been removed. 00:20:39.839 --> 00:20:41.680 Now remind you, I remember none of this. 00:20:41.759 --> 00:20:43.680 That's the effect that anesthesia has on me. 00:20:43.759 --> 00:20:45.200 I can't remember any of it. 00:20:45.359 --> 00:21:00.720 And Brenda will tell you that even when I'm under sedation, and she knows I'm under sedation, I speak as clearly to at then as I'm speaking, see, I'm not speaking clearly now, but I speak as clearly under sedation as I do when I'm up here talking. 00:21:01.039 --> 00:21:04.880 So in particular, I'm in, so I'm in ICU. 00:21:05.200 --> 00:21:07.119 Brenda, the girls are in the room. 00:21:07.279 --> 00:21:08.960 They're very concerned about me. 00:21:09.279 --> 00:21:11.839 Tubes, wires coming out everywhere, right? 00:21:12.079 --> 00:21:17.279 And and they made this announcement that there was going to be a shift change in the intensive care unit. 00:21:17.359 --> 00:21:23.599 And all the doctors and nurses need to meet in the hot and in the hallway five minutes before the shift change. 00:21:23.920 --> 00:21:28.400 As soon as they made that announcement, I looked at Brenda and I said, Tell them I can't make it. 00:21:28.640 --> 00:21:37.440 And she heard that, and when she realized what I said, she started laughing, but it helped her and the girls realize I was going to be okay. 00:21:37.680 --> 00:21:45.920 Well, then after surgery, one of the great things about a hospital stay is you get praised for things you never get praised for at home. 00:21:46.400 --> 00:21:55.519 So, just in case you're unaware, under general anesthesia, it kind of puts your digestive tract to sleep and it has to slowly reawaken. 00:21:55.759 --> 00:21:59.599 So, one of the things they encourage in the hospital is to pass gas. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:04.160 Now, I've never been praised for this ability in my entire life. 00:22:04.640 --> 00:22:09.599 But after open heart surgery, my nurses were beaming with pride every time I passed gas. 00:22:09.920 --> 00:22:17.519 So I had entered into a whole new world where the things frowned upon in polite society were openly encouraged and celebrating. 00:22:17.680 --> 00:22:20.720 So I took full advantage of my new frown freedom. 00:22:20.960 --> 00:22:29.119 And Brenda, when she'd come up to see me and we'd walk the halls for exercise, I would just toot away as we're walking down the hall. 00:22:29.920 --> 00:22:35.839 And she was so embarrassed, she's mortified, she's dying a thousand deaths, and she says, Stop it. 00:22:36.079 --> 00:22:38.640 And I said, I they want me to do this. 00:22:38.720 --> 00:22:40.720 I can't let my nurses down. 00:22:42.000 --> 00:22:43.920 So laughter makes you feel better. 00:22:44.079 --> 00:22:47.039 But another benefit, you can connect with others better. 00:22:47.279 --> 00:22:51.039 Someone said this laughter is the shortest distance between two people. 00:22:51.279 --> 00:23:00.319 Now, what I've learned about people is this is if I can get people to laugh at themselves, it's a far more effective way of making a point than scolding them. 00:23:00.559 --> 00:23:08.480 And sometimes to get them to laugh at me is far more, is far better to persuade people than even get them laughing at themselves. 00:23:08.720 --> 00:23:15.359 For example, you know, I I could tell you about pity parties and how they take us on a downward spiral and it's nothing but a negative effect. 00:23:15.440 --> 00:23:17.200 That's what I talked about last week. 00:23:17.359 --> 00:23:19.359 But I didn't tell you that that way. 00:23:19.599 --> 00:23:30.559 I told you a story about me in college and being on my downward spiral and going to see a professor at college, confessing all my problems, and them asking me, have you looked up in the trees to see the color of the leaves? 00:23:30.720 --> 00:23:33.920 And I was just so irritated by that, I said, yes. 00:23:34.160 --> 00:23:37.759 And then when I walk out after the session, it's a dead of winter. 00:23:37.839 --> 00:23:39.519 There's not a leaf on a tree anywhere. 00:23:39.680 --> 00:23:40.640 And so you laughed. 00:23:40.720 --> 00:23:41.759 You laughed at me. 00:23:41.920 --> 00:23:44.799 You enjoyed my pain in that moment. 00:23:44.960 --> 00:23:57.599 But when you did that, when you laughed with me, you were much more open to thinking about how many times have I got caught in a negative spiral and went out of control and had a pity party and couldn't break free of that. 00:23:57.839 --> 00:23:59.519 That's what happens when we laugh. 00:23:59.680 --> 00:24:04.799 So have you ever considered how closely the words humility and humor are joined? 00:24:05.039 --> 00:24:13.519 A sense of humor requires a sense of humility, ruthless honesty about who we are, without disguise, without pretense. 00:24:13.759 --> 00:24:16.799 Humor lets us laugh at ourselves. 00:24:17.119 --> 00:24:20.480 Humility lets us laugh at ourselves. 00:24:20.640 --> 00:24:24.319 People who take themselves too seriously, they can't laugh at themselves. 00:24:24.559 --> 00:24:32.000 Humor, what it does, it reminds us that we're not the center of the universe, that there's a whole lot of stuff we don't know and still even more that we don't understand. 00:24:32.160 --> 00:24:36.000 So humor puts us in our place, just like the teachings of Jesus do. 00:24:36.160 --> 00:24:41.839 The actor Woody Harrelson said it like this: the only way to get a serious message across is through comedy. 00:24:42.000 --> 00:24:52.240 The actor-comedian John Cleese, who you might remember from Monty Python, he said, if I can get you to laugh with me, you like me better, which makes you more open to my ideas. 00:24:52.400 --> 00:24:58.880 And if I can persuade you to laugh at the particular point I make, by laughing at it, you acknowledge its truth. 00:24:59.039 --> 00:25:00.240 Isn't that the case? 00:25:00.559 --> 00:25:07.359 In fact, that's why I say humor is a very effective way to get people to move from a ha-ha moment to an aha moment. 00:25:07.759 --> 00:25:13.359 When you laugh at yourself, you're showing I got caught by the truth and I've been humbled. 00:25:13.519 --> 00:25:18.079 And the more you accept yourself the way God does, the more you can laugh in that way. 00:25:18.240 --> 00:25:31.519 You know, one time after a service, I would it was a marriage series, and somebody came up to me and said, Pastor, during the service, there was some lady behind me who said, I don't know how Brenda can stand to be married to Pastor Keith. 00:25:32.480 --> 00:25:35.920 And I just looked at this lady and I said, She doesn't know the half of it. 00:25:36.079 --> 00:25:39.279 You know, because one, that's the truth. 00:25:39.519 --> 00:25:44.640 I'm not gonna get all offended, I'm not gonna get all hot and bothered that somebody criticizing me like that. 00:25:44.720 --> 00:25:46.960 They don't know me and they don't know half the story. 00:25:47.119 --> 00:25:49.759 Yes, I'm a problem to deal with, and so are you. 00:25:49.920 --> 00:25:51.839 So that's the truth, right? 00:25:52.880 --> 00:25:57.119 When you're willing to laugh at yourself, you enhance your credibility. 00:25:57.359 --> 00:26:02.400 When we're real enough to laugh at our own stupidities and foul-ups, we're secure. 00:26:02.640 --> 00:26:06.240 And only secure people can see the comedies of life. 00:26:06.400 --> 00:26:11.920 So let's talk about the upside and downside of laughter, beginning with the upside of laughter. 00:26:12.160 --> 00:26:14.400 Laughter has a way of restoring hope. 00:26:14.640 --> 00:26:16.000 Now you might remember this story. 00:26:16.079 --> 00:26:17.039 It was years ago. 00:26:17.200 --> 00:26:21.839 The actor Christopher Reeves was on horses and he and he had an accident. 00:26:21.920 --> 00:26:29.200 He fell off the horse, it severed his spine at the neck, he became a quadruplegic like that. 00:26:29.440 --> 00:26:31.279 He wrote a book called Still Me. 00:26:31.519 --> 00:26:37.680 And in that book, he tells a story of what happened prior to a very delicate surgery he was about to undergo. 00:26:37.839 --> 00:26:42.559 So as this surgery date grew closer and closer, it became more frightening for him to think about. 00:26:42.640 --> 00:26:48.160 As a quadruplegic, he can't move, he can't go anywhere else, he can't sit up, he can't do anything. 00:26:48.319 --> 00:26:54.880 He just lays there and he's stewing in all these negative emotions and this depression his feeling. 00:26:55.039 --> 00:27:07.839 But in this bleak moment, the doors to his room flew open, and in rush, this doctor had a blue scrub hat on, a yellow surgical gown, glasses, speaking in this thick Russian accent. 00:27:08.000 --> 00:27:12.640 The doctor said he was Reeves' proctologist and came to examine him immediately. 00:27:12.880 --> 00:27:19.359 And Christopher Reeves says his first reaction was to think this doctor is either on drugs or he's brain damaged. 00:27:19.519 --> 00:27:20.799 But guess who it was? 00:27:20.960 --> 00:27:24.240 It was Robin Williams, Reeves' good friends. 00:27:24.480 --> 00:27:28.559 And Reeves said for the first time since his accident, he laughed. 00:27:28.720 --> 00:27:29.680 Listen to what he said. 00:27:29.920 --> 00:27:34.240 My old friend helped me to know that somehow I was going to be okay. 00:27:34.480 --> 00:27:36.079 That's what we need sometimes. 00:27:36.240 --> 00:27:47.759 We need people to help us laugh, to help shift our mind away from the negative downward spiral, to remind us that we're not alone, that we're loved, and no matter what the outcome, there's people cheering for us. 00:27:48.000 --> 00:27:50.720 But there's also this there's a downside to laughter. 00:27:50.960 --> 00:27:54.319 Laughter can be a mask to hide from people. 00:27:54.559 --> 00:27:57.440 The Bible openly acknowledges this aspect of laughter. 00:27:57.599 --> 00:27:58.240 Listen to this. 00:27:58.480 --> 00:28:00.480 Even in laughter, the heart is sad. 00:28:01.039 --> 00:28:04.559 You can use humor to hide from a painful truth. 00:28:04.720 --> 00:28:08.079 You can use humor to avoid facing things. 00:28:08.319 --> 00:28:11.839 If you're part of my generation, you grew up with the sounds of Motown. 00:28:12.000 --> 00:28:17.039 In the 60s and 70s, Smokey Robinson was the epitome of the sounds of Motown. 00:28:17.119 --> 00:28:21.759 And he wrote a particular huge success in the 60s, sold millions of copies. 00:28:21.920 --> 00:28:23.519 The lyrics went like this. 00:28:23.759 --> 00:28:27.359 People say I'm the life of the party because I tell a joke or two. 00:28:27.519 --> 00:28:31.680 Although I may be laughing loud and hardy, deep inside I'm blue. 00:28:31.839 --> 00:28:33.920 So take a good look at my face. 00:28:34.079 --> 00:28:36.720 You'll see my smiles look out of place. 00:28:36.880 --> 00:28:41.279 If you look closer, it's easy to trace the track of my tears. 00:28:41.519 --> 00:28:47.039 Now, obviously, Smokey understood human nature and how many of us we like to hide behind masks. 00:28:47.200 --> 00:28:57.119 We conceal our feelings, we disguise our vulnerabilities, and one of the most effective masks that is out there is laughter, clowning around so that people won't see our tears. 00:28:57.279 --> 00:29:03.839 Now, I don't know about you, but I've always been fascinated by the backstory of some of America's greatest comedians. 00:29:04.480 --> 00:29:05.839 Richard Pryor. 00:29:06.000 --> 00:29:09.920 He grew up in a brothel where his mother was a prostitute. 00:29:10.160 --> 00:29:17.039 His mother eventually abandoned him and left him to his grandmother, who was the brothel's owner, and she frequently beat him. 00:29:17.200 --> 00:29:23.440 He was molested multiple times as a young boy, first by an older kid, later by a Catholic priest. 00:29:23.759 --> 00:29:26.799 Pryor divorced seven times as an adult. 00:29:26.960 --> 00:29:33.839 He had recurring problems with drugs and alcohol, even infamously set himself on fire while he was high on cocaine. 00:29:34.079 --> 00:29:36.480 Pryor had a truly troubling past. 00:29:36.720 --> 00:29:40.880 Others of you from our generation or from today's generation might think of Pete Davidson. 00:29:41.119 --> 00:29:43.759 He was a regular on SL. 00:29:43.839 --> 00:29:45.599 He's a really well-known comedian. 00:29:45.759 --> 00:29:55.359 Well, Pete Davidson, if you're not aware of this, he lost his dad because his dad was a firefighter on September 11th, rushing into the building to save others. 00:29:55.519 --> 00:29:59.680 Pete was seven years old when his dad died, tried to save other people. 00:29:59.839 --> 00:30:06.000 And not just that, but he also has uh borderline personality disorder that he's been very upfront about. 00:30:06.160 --> 00:30:11.680