Complimentary Story
May 2025Laughter can help us in our troubles. King Solomon wrote there is “A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.” “A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance, but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.” “A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones.” (Ecclesiastes 3:4; Proverbs 15:13; Proverbs 17:22).
Some people believe maintaining a sense of humor helped some survivors through the Holocaust. Chaya Ostrower discovered while interviewing 84 Holocaust survivors for her doctoral thesis that “humor in the Holocaust fulfilled all the functions of humor, but especially that of Defense Mechanism, including its sub types — Self-humor and Gallows humor.” One survivor interviewed for the study said, “the reason I survived…was laughter and humor….” Another survivor said, “Humor was one of the integral ingredients of mental perseverance. …it was very important, very important. Humor and satire played a tremendous role, in my opinion.”
One time I was telling a friend about a horrible experience I had been through and was still going through. She said, “Well I’m glad you are able to laugh about it.” I had not even realized I was laughing. Even though the experience was causing me tremendous pain, I was telling it in a humorous way, plus the ridiculousness of it all struck me as, “This would be very funny if it wasn’t real,” and I was unconsciously laughing as I told the story.
One time, among many, I showed up to a meeting late. I apologized for being late. Someone at the meeting said, “No need to apologize, this is the time you usually get here.” I burst out laughing and said, “Then I guess I’m on time.” I could have taken offense to the statement. I could have gotten angry. I could have attacked and pointed out their faults. I could have given all my excuses for my “tardiness.” I could have gotten sullen that I was embarrassed in front of everyone. I could have said to myself, “I am a failure, no one likes me.” I could have tried to invoke the sympathy of the others who heard the “attack” on poor me. I guess I could have also taken the statement to heart and tried to be on time next time. But the point is, I chose to laugh instead of resorting to any of the negative options (or the positive one) I had before me. And I chose to take the rebuke as a kindness to help me not be rude and insensitive to other people’s time.
I was physically attacked, knocked to the ground, choked, and threatened with being killed by someone 20 years younger than me, literally twice my weight, and a good 13 inches (that is over a foot for those who are not good at math) taller than me. My wife even had a picture of him choking me out on a public street. Fortunately he let me go. I called the police, told my story, and showed them the picture. After the giant told the police that he was defending himself from me, they read me my Miranda Rights and threatened to arrest me. I started to unconsciously laugh spontaneously — not a good thing to do in front of a police officer. One of the officers said, “This is not funny.” I sobered up quickly and replied, “No, it is not; it is ridiculous.” True, but probably not the best thing to say at that moment. Laughing at that time might not have been a great idea, but it was my coping mechanism kicking in.
There are times when my lovely wife gets to scolding me about something and I start laughing. This, of course, makes her even more upset with me, which causes me to laugh even harder, sometimes even rib-hurting, literally rolling on the ground, laughter. I believe this sense of humor that God has given me has helped me cope with some of the difficulties I have been through. I also believe it has been the cause of my sleeping on the couch a few times (which really isn’t too bad; it’s kind of like camping).
But laughter alone is not enough to give us power to cope. There have been some very funny people who have committed suicide.
If you are feeling down in the dumps, watch a good, clean humorous movie or show. It won’t solve your problem, but it could cheer you up a little and clear your head of the stinking thinking long enough to help you think realistically about what is the root of your feelings.
Ask God to give you the ability to laugh at yourself, or even in the face of current or coming calamity. In the end, God will grant us eternal life in the mansions He is preparing for us in a beautiful new heavens and new earth, with ponds, rivers, delicious fruits to enjoy, with perfect health and strength. There will be no timelines or deadlines, no bureaucracy or bills, no nasty people or broken items, no heartache or headaches, no divorce or separation, no broken promises or disappointments, no illness or death, no sadness or depression, no goodbyes or distance between us and those we love. Everything will be in perfect harmony and unity. We will be able to do more, and have more joy and fun than we could imagine.
The problems we face now, will soon all be gone, just a short passing memory. God’s glorious future awaits us.
We can laugh at all that happens here, because in the end, we win.
Learn more about other depressed people of the Bible, in the book “Depressed People of the Bible,” available where most books are sold.
Author’s Disclaimer: The information I will be sharing is not intended for diagnosis or treatment of depression. It is a biblical reflection on people throughout the Scriptures who dealt with depression and how God carried them through it to healing and purpose.
