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"Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say
Rejoice."
The church, in its worship and ministry, is engaged
in activities at once serious, and centred on the faith
with its demands on the people of God "to do justly,
and to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God".
Micah 6:8.
The emphasis is on a commitment to God which affects and
governs the thoughts, words and actions of the believer. Life
is to be taken seriously, for living is a serious business.
The attitudes and achievement are of a people who find themselves
in situations and circumstances which may give them a quality
of life agreeable and enjoyable. But for very many of them
their environment is such that they are denied even the basics
for living beyond existing. The seriousness of life for everyone
is not the same for everyone. It means that while life has
its pleasures for some it has despair for others. And the
task of the church, wherever it is located, is to help people
to live with faith in God, and to live.
Everything is so serious that that other element in Christianity
is not sufficiently stressed, the "joy in the Lord."
The Scriptures throughout contend that the benefit of faith
in God is in the happiness it brings to those who believe
in Him and trust Him to take care of them. A happiness so
meaningful, so precious, that nothing can take it away. The
proof is in the undefeated spirit of believers whose faith
remains strong in spite of the most horrific experiences,
and persecutions, known to a suffering humanity. To many,
tears are ever present, laughter and pleasure absent.
Most Christians in our western world find life agreeable
and enjoyable. They are privileged to live their lives in
circumstances that environment is to so live. That their faith,
and the practice of it, that they will persuade others to
turn to Christ and to enjoy the benefits faith brings to believers.
It is always necessary to be balanced in our Christian living,
to concentrate on the serious - but not to disregard the usefulness
of the frivolous, the fun of word and deed that is desirable,
essential to a life fully lived. Samuel Taylor Coleridge put
words to the thought when he said: "No mind is thoroughly
well organised, that is deficient in a sense of humour."
Chambers Dictionary describes humour as: "a mental
quality which apprehends and delights in the ludicrous and
mirthful."
Christians sometimes on strong evidence, are charged with
having no sense of humour. Happily that is not true of most
Christians.
He was a wise observer of people who described humour as
: "a human influence softening with mirth the rugged
inequalities of existence, prompting tolerant views of life,
bridging over the spaces which separate the lofty from the
lowly; the great from the humble." E.P. Whipple.
Humour is of the head and the heart! "Many a true
word is spoken in jest." Good humour is not contemptuous.
It is laughter free from scorn. Of all the griefs that harass
the distressed, the most bitter is a scornful jest. And smiles
express pleasure when laughter is inappropriate.
Those with the intention of propagating the Christian faith
must speak to the wholeness of humanity; recognise the value
of humour. Humour that has the affect of lifting the mind,
ennervating the spin, made a bad situation bearable. A sense
of humour is the philosophy of the undefeated.
We have to recognise that it is the riches of the mind that
makes a person rich and happy.
George Asaf (George H Powell) with his song had an incredible
effect on soldiers in the war as they sang:
"What's the use of worrying?
It never was worth while
So pack up your troubles in your old kit-bag
And smile, smile, smile."
These were men serving in appalling conditions, and facing
a fearsome enemy who found mental relief in together singing
'a simple little song' which had a large, and relevant philosophy.
The evangelist, W.P. Nicholson, whose preaching had an amazing
converting affect on many people in the 1920s in Northern
Ireland, and which contributed hugely to the growth and influence
of the churches, was a skilled user of the serious and frivilorous
had a favourite chorus:
"Down in the dumps I'll never go,
That's where the devil keeps me low,
I'll sing with all my might
And keep my armour bright.
But down in the dumps
I'll never go."
There is always the serious and the frivolous and the balance
that needs to be kept. The end note here is in the words of
the hymnist:
"Happy are they, they that love God,
Whose hearts have Christ confessed.
Who by His cross have found their life.
And 'neath his yoke their rest."
Canon Dr. S.E. Long
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