One of my favorite political videos shows President George Bush waiting on the North Portico of the White House to meet with Senator John McCain. President Bush intended to publicly announce his endorsement of Senator McCain during the 2008 presidential campaign. McCain was late for the meeting.
President Bush paced back and forth on the portico, talking with the press corps. Then, he did a soft shoe tap dance, which all the video cameras captured for their telecasts. The media pounced on him for his unpresidential like maneuvers.
But right then and there, I liked him.
You see, President Bush was being thrashed by the media for Iran, Afghanistan, the economy, and yada yada yada. Both parties were making him their scapegoat for all of America’s problems and his approval ratings were in the toilet.
Yet, for that moment, he chose humor and enjoyed himself.
How many of us can do that?
A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength. (Proverbs 17:22 NLT)
A serious friend once told me, “Jesus is sober minded and does not have a good sense of humor, especially with all of the problems in the world.”
“Well, He chose us to be His friends,” I replied, ” and that’s a sure sign He has a sense of humor. We resemble Moe, Larry, and Curly most of the time, and not pious saints with twinkly eyes.”
My friend was not convinced and maybe you agree with him, but who created laughter and joy? Satan or God?
It is my firm belief that God created laughter for us humans to enjoy life and to help us endure tough times. The opposite state of mind to joy and cheerfulness is usually depression, which will sap our strength during calamities.
So, I recommend that we begin cultivating a sense of humor today. Let’s no longer watch depressing TV shows or movies, but instead, let’s watch I Love Lucy or Fraiser reruns or whatever. Let’s read humorous stories or joke books. Let’s make an all-out effort to develop joy and a cheerfulness now.
Nothing sums up this message better than the 2 minute and 17 second video of the ending for the 1963 movie, “It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World,” which can be seen here.
