An essential part of building community is laughing together.
Those I feel closest to I also laugh with. I mean, we do talk about really important stuff. Life-changing. Heart-wrenching. Tear-enducing.
But we also laugh together. So hard that we cry. So hard that it hurts our stomachs. So hard that we accidentally pass gas.
And I’m convinced that it’s healthy to laugh together. Ecclesiastes 3:4 says that there is “a time to laugh.” Laughing together helps to build relationship. It helps to build trust. And community is fostered when you laugh with somebody.
Too many people think that “religion” has to be completely stoic. To be a “good” follower of Christ means that you’re straight-faced, walk around with blank stares, and have furled brows. But that’s just not true.
God created humor. And if you never experience that with other followers of Christ then you’re missing out on a great blessing.
I laugh a lot with the guys I work with at the Grace offices. At the end of one of our Sunday services, a few of us went out on stage as Adam Bayne’s “band” to help him with an announcement. Enjoy laughing at this picture…at our expense. Go ahead…I’m giving you “a time to laugh.”
And while you’re at it, why not invite your neighbor over for a cup of coffee, and laugh together with them, too. Who knows? It may be that God uses that to help you build a relationship with them that leads them to follow Christ.
