Lament and Laugh

Perhaps you are experiencing irritability in isolation, a bit of apathy setting in while alone, maybe not.  But there may be a tendency to express emotions and even actions that are not consistent with God's desire for us.  Jesus knew He would be deserted by His disciples, but He gave them some wise
words in John 16:
32 Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.
33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."

He said "I am not alone."  We can say that, too - we know that God is with us. And we have the capacity to walk in His peace, as well as His joy.  We can radiate hope because He has made it possible to live an overcoming life - in His Word, the Lord has said that we are more than conquerors in Him.  In our discouragement, we can seek out His joy - perhaps we can decide to smile, or even to laugh, so that our hearts are lifted.  

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Proverbs 17 offers some verses that can help to determine our demeanor in our times of difficulty. One of those is verse 22:
22 A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones.

A few verses later, we read this verse:
27 He who has knowledge spares his words, And a man of understanding is of a calm spirit.

All right, so we are about a month in to the Coronavirus crisis.  How are you doing? Are you stir crazy yet - maybe a bit of cabin fever?  Life will come back to normal, generally, I believe, but for many there is a "new normal" on the horizon.  And, we can continue to maintain our witness - and even our wit.

Jim Denison of the Denison Forum had a piece on The Christian Post website recently.  In it, Denison writes:

I’m reading Edward Achorn’s Every Drop of Blood, which masterfully sets Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address in its historical context. I have long been a student of Civil War history, but I did not realize the depth of personal rejection and suffering our sixteenth president endured as he tried to lead the nation through her most perilous days.

And yet, Lincoln was famous during the war for his quips and down-home humor. He would often respond to criticism and anger with a story that changed the entire tone of the moment. He once explained his strategy: “With the fearful strain that is on me night and day, if I did not laugh I should die.”

Jim Denison related some "quarantine jokes" that had been sent to him. I thought I would pass them along to you:

• “Quarantine has turned us into dogs. We roam the house all day looking for food. We are told ‘no’ if we get too close to strangers. And we get really excited about car rides.”
• “The world has turned upside down. Old folks are sneaking out of the house, and their kids are yelling at them to stay indoors.”
• “2019: Stay away from negative people. 2020: Stay away from positive people.”
• “Tomorrow is the National Homeschool Tornado Drill. Lock your kids in the basement until you give the all clear. You’re welcome!”
• “Day seven at home and the dog is looking at me like, ‘See? This is why I chew the furniture!'”

Jim Sanders, who serves as Executive Vice President of Ambassador Advertising Agency, which works with a number of programmers that you hear on Faith Radio included some humor in a piece that appeared on the Haven Today website; he points out that, "Most websites list the same basic recommendations but don’t include the real way to think about it..."  Some examples:

• Wash your hands frequently in hot water for at least 20 seconds. As you heard on Haven Today, you can estimate 20 seconds by singing the “Doxology.” And by the way, this frequent hand-washing is great news for our Obsessive-Compulsive friends who are now not alone. The rest of us now know what it’s like to live with the need for frequent hand-washing.
• Cover your mouth when you cough and when you cough do so into the bend of your elbow. Some of us have a bit of trouble doing that. The CDC says you may use the bend of your friend’s elbow if you can’t reach yours.
• Stay at least three feet away from other people. My question is why three feet? How about 50 feet? Actually, I have a list of people I’d like to keep at a distance of a quarter of a mile. And don’t forget the most important benefit of this instruction: It’s a gift to those of us who dread the Sunday morning “greet everyone” part of the service. Handshakes and hugs have been replaced by fist bumps and waves.
• The latest CDC recommendation: Stay at home as much as possible. For a homebody like me, that’s music to my ears. BTW – Could you give my boss a call? And did I understand the WHO also recommended playing golf to stay away from people? I thought I read that somewhere.

Sanders also notes:

Then don’t forget what might be the best benefit to this latest round of hysteria: You’ll never find a better deal from a cruise line. You pay for one week, but get two extra weeks on the ship for free. The fact that you’re isolated to a 10’ x 12’ room and sitting in the middle of the ocean is inconsequential.

Jim Denison, in the article published at The Christian Post, points out the physical benefits of laughing, according to the Mayo Clinic...

...laughter benefits us physically in a variety of ways. Laughing can increase our oxygen intake, which in turn stimulates our heart, lungs, and muscles. Laughing also releases endorphins, the feel-good chemicals our bodies produce that make us feel happy and can relieve stress and pain.

The act of increasing and then decreasing our heart rate through laughter is calming and tension-relieving. Laughing can even release stress- and illness-reducing neuropeptides, boosting our immune system.

Denison refers to the "signals of transcendence," that were identified by a sociologist named Peter Borger.  Denison writes that these are...

...dimensions of our lives that point to realities that transcend us. Among them is humor, which Berger defines as the discrepancy between what “is” and what “ought to be.”

Jim goes on to say that...

...we should respond to crisis by looking for something transcendent in it. If God is timelessly sovereign (cf. Isaiah 46:10; Malachi 3:6), ever present in our lives and world (cf. Matthew 28:20), we can find “signals of transcendence” even in these days of crisis.

Jim Sanders writes at the end of his piece about a plague that took the lives of thousands in ancient Rome.  He says that there was great fear and that "Many died alone since no one was willing to take the risk of infection."

However, there were the Christians . . . the one people group who did better than others. Larry Hackman observed: “Christians responded differently. Trusting in God’s promises of eternal life, they turned to care for the sickest. The ironic result is that the mortality rate of Christians was significantly lower because their care for one another gave a chance for the measles sufferer to recuperate, whereas those who isolated would inevitably perish from neglect even if they survived the ravages of the disease. Because they did not fear death, the Christians lived.”

Very simply put, we have the chance to communicate a message of hope - that is something that we can be reminded of every day.  And, a tool that can be helpful to us as we maintain a hopeful stance is laughter.  The Bible tells us about the healing capacity of a "merry heart."  We can certainly be discouraged in our isolation, but we can be encouraged in His presence.

The Christian has the opportunity to respond differently than the world.  Rather than posture ourselves as angry and disgruntled in this time of crisis, we can smile and, as Jesus said, "be of good cheer."  We will have tribulation in this life - that is a promise - but we can know and experience His abiding presence and allow Him to determine our viewpoint.