"Prosopopoeia"

 "I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it?" (Ecclesiastes 2:2 KJV)

  "So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer, too. For if you have suffered physically for Christ, you have finished with sin. You won't spend the rest of your lives chasing your own desires, but you will be anxious to do the will of God. You have had enough in the past of evil things that godless people enjoy - their immorality and lust, their feasting and drunkenness and wild parties, and their terrible worship of idols." (1 Peter 4:1-3 NLT)

 For the moment, pretend you don't see the title of this blog, and imagine it doesn't exist. Instead, focus upon the word, "laughter," thinking of those things which cause you to laugh to yourself, when no one is around; if that is something that you might do? If you can't or don't remember laughing to yourself, then think of the opposite, which would be cursing out load, when you don't think anyone can hear you; I bet that is easier to recall than laughter! 

 Why does laughter do? Well, according to some studies, it lengthens your life; giving you less stress, a better immune system, more tolerance to pain; besides, those physical things, you will have a better sense of humor, laughing when it hurts otherwise! Looking at things with the glass half full, expecting more to come, and looking for opportunities to make your life better. 

 What is that Solomon is pointing to, when he speaks of laughter? To be candid, it is foolishness and worthless if it used to ease a sorrowful spirit or erase a guilty conscience; as James says, "Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy." (James 4:9 NLT) 

 When it comes to worshiping God, is there really such a thing as holy laughter? Can you have joy without laughter? Believe it or not, but when I feel sad and unhappy, I try to find something to make myself feel happy; something funny and worth laughing about.

  Some people use alcohol as a way to find happiness; and the amount of people that I see buying alcohol lately, seems like 95% category of people shopping. And there are 20% that don't even care, they just have a cart full of alcohol, and nothing else! 

 Why is this something we need to pay any attention to? What does it matter to God? I am thinking about Moses, when he was about to give up dealing with a million complainer's that just couldn't be satisfied. What did God do to change his heart? He caused him to fall in love with his people! Really, it was no laughing matter! But, at the same time, you can look back and laugh, because God does have a sense of humor! 

 Think about some of the Bible stories that make you laugh, some of which are God's way of doing things that are too hilarious to even speak about, let alone use for teaching! Why did Jesus tell those Jews, "If these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out." (Luke 19:40) Why did Jesus fold that napkin that covered His face, placing it neatly on the slab where He had laid? (John 20:7) How about, "Touche and Take That!" 

 I have tried and tried to change, sometimes making it work, sometimes not; but sometimes God has more to do with those that are broken, then He can do with those that think they are fixed...

"If I wanted to boast, I would be no fool in doing so, because I would be telling the truth. But I won't do it, because I don't want anyone to give me credit beyond what they can see in my life or hear in my message, even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, "My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness." So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That's why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Corinthians 12:6-12 NLT)