This blog post is a departure from my usual topics. I’m about to reveal to you just how “old school” I really am. Some of you may still be reeling from the humorous story in my Mothers’ Day post. Was I glorifying war or violence? Was I endorsing strong drink? Was I encouraging a child to fear a parent? Was I condoning a student misrepresenting their homework? No on all counts! It simply made me laugh when I read it and I thought it might make you laugh too; nothing more complicated than that. We need to loosen up and laugh more without picking everything apart for a hidden meaning or agenda. I know in the society in which we live today, if that really happened, Johnny would be yanked out of school by the police for psychological evaluation and his parents investigated by DFS for possible loss of custody of their son, even though his story was pure fiction. Those actions would have been taken to punish, instead of praise, Johnny’s very active imagination. We are stifling our children’s creativity by demanding they always color within our lines.
I grew up watching violent cartoons like Tom and Jerry, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Roadrunner. Even Popeye got violent after consuming his spinach. I knew they weren’t real, so I never once thought about dropping an anvil on someone’s head. I knew my cap pistol wasn’t a real gun and when I graduated to a bee-bee gun I knew I had to be careful with it. By the time my father gave me his antique lever action 22 caliber rifle, I was mature enough to handle it with safety and care. What’s more important, I learned to recognize sarcasm and never once took it literally.
Today, those funny cartoons have been replaced with realistic video games where people are gunned down or blown up; blurring the line between fantasy and reality. Sarcasm has been banned, so everything must be meant and taken literally. No wonder teachers and authorities are paranoid about violent thoughts as well as actions. Even pointing a finger at someone like a gun is considered an act of violence today.
I’ll step down from my soapbox now and get to my point. Personal experience has taught me that nothing relieves stress better than laughter. In this stressful time we need as much of it as we can get. I’ve mentioned before that my wife and I laughed together at least once every day. Now that she isn’t here, I laugh with my friends and even laugh with my Lord; usually about something stupid I did. I recently saw a quote from that wise and prolific writer named Anonymous, “If you are able to find something humorous in a bad situation – you win!” When you let smiles and laughter into your communication, you will find that God’s love flows more freely. Try it – you’ll like it.