It was one of those days. You know the ones. The kids were out of sorts and wouldn’t quit bickering. A glass jar full of yogurt fell and smashed on the kitchen floor, giving me a massive clean-up project. The laundry pile seemed so high I'd never dig myself out. I was running late on a work deadline. And on top of all that, it was pouring rain.
“Well, I feel like three racoons in a trench coat, but I’m off to pretend I’m a human being,” I said with a laugh when the babysitter blessedly arrived.
There is nothing like a rough day to bring out the inner comedian. Know the feeling? It turns out this is a common phenomenon. Often, the worse things are going, the more you look for something to laugh about.
Humor is one of the highest forms of defense mechanisms to cope with pain, so when people have something tough to overcome, they often develop a fantastic sense of humor. Indeed, many of the funniest people in the world have been through some of the hardest things.
What faith and humor have in common
Keeping a sense of humor in the face of hardship is a powerful reminder that we are never defeated. It’s a way of holding a candle in the darkness and keeping hope shining bright.
Of course, being a Christian and having faith in Jesus gives us a reason for hope and a reason to keep searching for something to smile about even when things seem bleak.
The connection between faith and comedy was the focus of a fascinating conversation between actress Dua Lipa and comedian Stephen Colbert that recently made the rounds on social media. You can watch it here:
Lipa asked:
I think something that your viewers really connect with in your comedy and your hosting skills, especially in the past few years, is how open and honest and authentic you are about the role your faith plays in your life. Do your faith and your comedy ever overlap, and does one ever win out?
At first, Colbert quipped, “Ultimately, us all being mortal, the faith will win out in the end. But I certainly hope when I get to heaven, Jesus has a sense of humor.”
But then he responded with a surprisingly powerful insight into faith and laughter:
I’m a Christian and a Catholic, and that’s always connected to the idea of love and sacrifice being somehow related, and giving yourself to other people. And that death is not defeat.
And sadness is like a little bit of an emotional death, but not a defeat if you can find a way to laugh about it. Because that laughter keeps you from having fear of it, and fear is the thing that keeps you turning to evil devices to save you from the sadness…
So if there’s some relationship between my faith and my comedy, it’s that no matter what happens, you are never defeated. You must understand and see this in the light of eternity, and find some way to love and laugh with each other.
We are not defeated
Our faith helps us know that we never need to be afraid, because Christ conquered death. No wonder the Bible tells us “Do not be afraid” so insistently. No wonder so many of the saints had a great sense of humor.
When we find something to laugh about even when everything is going wrong, it’s a little way of thumbing our nose at calamity and disaster. It’s a way of keeping an even temper and peaceful spirit even when it feels like everything is conspiring against us.
The next time life feels like chaos, remember that your ability to find a reason to laugh isn't just a coping mechanism. It's an act of defiance against despair. It’s a declaration that no matter how hard things get, your spirit will not be conquered. Even when you’re having “one of those days.”
