I love hanging out with my wife. She always knows how to tickle my funny bone with her corny jokes—like this one:
What’s the difference between a guitar and a fish?
You can’t tuna fish!
Laughter is good medicine. No, seriously!
Have you ever wondered if God has a sense of humor? Since we’re all made in God’s image, I believe it’s safe to say that he does, and a great one at that. Humor is part of our divinely created nature. Even infants are able to smile and laugh when barely a few months old.
Check out some of the funny and bizarre-looking creatures God made for his and our enjoyment. Ever seen a Proboscis monkey, Mantis shrimp, hooded seal, deep-sea squid, Komondor dog, Angora rabbit, Emperor Tamarin, Pink Fairy Armadillo, Axolotl (or ajolote), Aye-aye, Frill-necked lizard, or one of my personal favorites—the Blobfish? Or what about the more familiar hippopotamus, sloth, or ostrich? They are absolutely hilarious-looking animals. God apparently had tons of fun creating each of them.
I can just hear it now—God hollering, “Hey guys, you’re not gonna believe this one!” Just then the angels in heaven all spontaneously erupt in laughter.
Proverbs 15:13 (ESV) says, “A glad heart makes a cheerful face, but by sorrow of heart the spirit is crushed.” Then Proverbs 17:22 (ESV) asserts, “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”
Of all the people in the world, Christians ought to exhibit the most joy and laughter. After all, we have so much to be thankful for. However, I could swear that some believers were weaned on lemons, or at least dill pickles! They are veritable sourpusses who can be a real bummer to be around. It’s almost as if they’re afraid that if they dare to smile—never mind crack a joke—their face might just shatter in pieces. That’s sad. Whatever happened to the abundant life?
According to www.helpguide.org, there are several noteworthy benefits to developing a healthy sense of humor and learning to laugh more often. Humor is infectious and the sound of roaring laughter often contagious. Shared laughter draws people closer together and increases their collective and individual sense of well-being.
Humor and laughter hold the power to bolster your immune system, boost your energy, reduce pain, and buffer you from the negative effects of stress? Paul E. McGhee, Ph.D. says, “Your sense of humor is one of the most powerful tools you have to make certain that your daily mood and emotional state support good health.” A good laugh works wonders toward bringing your mind and body back into balance. Humor eases internal and interpersonal tension, lightens your burdens, fosters hope, and builds bonds between people, all the while keeping us grounded.
Laughter can relax the whole body. It boosts the immune system by decreasing stress hormones and increasing immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies. Thus it strengthens one’s resistance to disease. Furthermore, laughter triggers the release of endorphins, the body’s natural “feel-good chemical” which can alleviate pain. It even protects the heart by improving the function of blood vessels and increasing blood flow.
Besides the many physical health benefits, laughter also has a number of mental health benefits. It adds joy and zest to life, lessens anxiety and fear, relieves emotional stress, improves mood, and increases resilience. Humor enables you to remain positive and maintain an optimistic outlook when confronted with tough situations, disappointment, and loss. It fuels your courage and sense of hope.
The social benefits of laughter include strengthening relationships through humor and playful communication, attracting others to us to forge positive bonds, enhancing teamwork, soothing conflict, and promoting group closeness. These qualities supply a strong buffer against stress, disagreements, and disappointment.
We need to actively seek opportunities to laugh. Some avenues to do this include watching funny (and clean) movies or TV shows, reading the funny pages, spending time with good-humored and fun-loving people, sharing good jokes or humorous stories, hosting game nights with friends, letting your hair down and acting silly, and making time for various fun activities with others.
So stop taking yourself so seriously. Learn to joke and laugh more. Purchase tickets to see a Christian comedian perform like Chonda Pierce, Mark Lowry, or Tim Hawkins. It will be time and money well spent.
Isn’t it time to tickle your funny bone?
Updated February 8, 2018
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Dr. Fraser, I really enjoyed this article! It is so true that Christians, of all of people, should be some of the happiest and joyous to be around, but often times are not. Our emotions are contagious, and I don’t think that most people realize that. The blessings we get from God is just one reason for having a smile on our faces and joy in our hearts, but most of the time we take advantage of those blessings. Laughter is the best medicine for an awful day or week. Sometimes I can find myself having a really awful day, and get around my friends and we get to cutting up and all of a sudden, my day isn’t so awful anymore.
Brittanie, thanks for posting this great comment. And I think you’re so right about the blessing it is to have friends to cut up and laugh with. Amen!
You are so right with Christians are one of the most happiest people in the world. We get blessings from God and should show happiness with that. When you are positive everyone around you starts to be. If you walk into a room and someone ask. “How are you?” then you say, “Not so great.”. That will rub off on another person and put a negative outlook on the other person. Being positive makes your day and others day a lot more brighter. “Laughter is the best medicine.”. Being joyful is how a Christian should be in the crazy world.
Paige, I definitely agree with you that positivity is contagious. Hope you have a great week!
Great article, Dr. Fraser. I love the idea that God has a sense of humor. It is also equally wonderful to think that our humor comes from being created in his image. I’ve heard the phrase, “Laughter is the best medicine,” but had no idea how true the statement was. Specifically, I didn’t know the physical and mental benefits that come from laughing. Thanks for the thoughts!
Jeff, thanks for reading my post. Glad you enjoyed it!
Dr. Fraser
I thought that I was the only one that believed , that GOD has a sense of humor. I think that GOD chuckles at us often when we do what we call weird things. I think that he laughs when we find ourselves in situations that we think are out of control such as thinking you will drown in a bucket of water. Just stand up! Thank you for helping us to keep laughing.
Laughter is truly such a gift. Thanks, Louise, for your comments!
I just planned a Thanksgiving sermon on the topic of “holy play.” A lot of what you say here is going to come in there. Great timing!
So glad you found it meaningful, Jill. What’s life without a little fun?
Dr. Fraser, I really enjoyed reading this article! I have never really thought about God having a sense of humor before, but I now believe that he does! I particularly liked that you said that since we are made in God’s image, it is safe to say that he has a sense of humor as well. That really helped illustrate your point for me, and it got me to think about humor in a new perspective. I also liked that you mentioned some funny looking animals as evidence of God’s humor. After reading this article, I started thinking about how amazing it is that God gave us a sense of humor, so that we can experience happiness and joy. Overall, I enjoyed the article a lot and I enjoyed thinking about humor in a new way!
Thanks, Rachel. I appreciate your good comments! Keep smilin’!
Great article, Dr. Ryan!
I have been a professional stand-up comedian for over 5 years, now. I absolutely LOVE it! And I can testify to every single word written in this article: the benefits of joy & laughter are out of this world!
If laughter is like a merry medicine then your jokes, your joy, your sense of humor all has the potential to bring healing to someone’s life. Share it. 😉
Thanks, Eric. I appreciate your insightful perspective as a comedian. Thank God for humor and laughter! It keeps us alive!