laughter is universal among people

 

A story carried by the Associated Press on March 31, 2010 spoke of how laughter (the aim of April Fools jokes) is a serious focus of study by some scientists. Researchers have found that laughter is universal among people. Regardless of where we grow up, we laugh in pretty much the same fashion. One professor said that "There's a pattern generator in our brain that produces this sound." The only requirement for laughter, he noted, is social interaction.

 

Different things cause different people to laugh. The humor of one generation doesn't appeal at all to another generation. Can you imagine shows like "Hee Haw" or "Red Skelton" becoming big hits in 2010? But every generation seems to find something that makes it laugh, and they will turn to it often. We like to laugh because laughing means that we feel good.

 

The article notes that proposals for research grants don't use the word "laughter"; instead they propose research on "positive emotional responses". That sounds more scientific and will more likely secure the funding sought. (Does that make you laugh as it did me?)

 

Obviously we were created with the capacity and the desire to laugh. And what does that tell us about the One who created us? Does God enjoy laughter? Proverbs 17:22 states "A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones." God knows what is best for us. Combine that truth with the statement that people are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27) and you have to believe that God enjoys laughter, too.

 

Jesus, who was God in the flesh, made statements that contained elements of humor. In warning us not to judge one another He said this: "And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?" (Matthew 7:3). Is it not comical to consider someone with a wooden plank protruding from their eye who is yet criticizing a tiny speck in another's eye?

 

In Matthew 23:24 Jesus observed this of some of the religious leaders of His day: "Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!" In another place He said the task of entering the kingdom of heaven would be more difficult for a rich man than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle (Matthew 19:24). Images like those nearly always prompt a chuckle from the hearer.

 

No, it's not surprising that laughter is a universal fact of human existence. God knows that "A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance, but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken" (Proverbs 15:13). So go ahead and play that April Fools Day prank. Loosen up and enjoy a moment of laughter. It will do your heart good, like medicine.

 

Timothy D. Hall.

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