A SERIOUS LOOK AT JOY

(part 2)

Sharing humor might even be considered an essential need for our survival and well-being according to medical research:

Laughter gives you a natural high, lighting up the brain’s reward center and releasing feel-good chemicals, including dopamine and endorphins.

Scientists believe humans have a built-in laugh detector that responds to the sound of laughter, which accounts for contagious giggles When it comes to romantic connection, several studies found that laughing can seal the deal. Laughing together is an indicator of how much a pair likes each other.

Laughter helps the heart with blood flow, raises serotonin levels to fight depression and even burns calories.

According to the late Dr. William Fry, who was a leading researcher into the psychology of laughing, laughter is the equivalent to “internal jogging.” Fry stated that one minute of laughter is equal to 10 minutes on a rowing machine. He also indicated that laughter eases tension, stress, and anger (HealthLine.com).

Wouldn’t our Creator have accounted for this need with some built-in options in creation?

Scripture teaches us how essential emotions are to grow in grace, to be spiritually closer to God and each other, but also how the other extremes of emotion, like reckless abandon, can bring pain. The Bible lists the emotion of joy as an actual fruit of God’s Spirit:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control…" (Galatians 5:22)

It’s interesting to study one fruit, because it quickly becomes clear how interrelated they all are. Each seems to help with various kinds of pain. It’s like one tree with a variety of nutritious fruit. For me, a good laugh is often the only thing that can heal certain sadness. Goofy pet videos shared by friends on social media can lighten a heavy heart: “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." (Proverbs 17:22)

To be cheerful is to be ready to meet the others with a welcome, a word of encouragement, an enthusiasm for the task at hand and a positive outlook at the future. Such people are as welcome as pain-relieving medicine.

Many people today live their lives in a constant state of stress and turmoil. But as Christians, we don't have to live that way. Why? Because God's Spirit lives in us, and a fruit of His Spirit is joy.

Now this joy is not just a "happy feeling" based on our circumstances or on the things we possess-it is an unshakable stability in our inner man (spirit). Joy can range anywhere from a calm delight to extreme hilarity, and it is the joy of the Lord that is our strength.

(to be continued)