A Time To Review #5

Weeping vs Laughing

The value for both of these emotional times in our lives can't be understated.  A lot of people might tell you to hold in your tears or restrain yourself in your joy, but God want's you to let it out.  We look at the differences and similarities in both of these seasons based on what we found in our coverage of them last week. Need a refresher?  Click weeping and laughter to get to either of them.

Get Emotional!

One thing I found when researching these two topics is how emotional the Bible can be.  There's a lot of weeping in the Bible.  A lot of strong and influential people, including Jesus, wept and more than once.  Just as Jeremiah wept over Judah for not serving God, it overcame Christ when people chose to serve the world instead of God.  Weeping is a natural and necessary reaction to upsetting and trying times.  The answer for times of weeping, as we found, isn't to break our neck fixing or compromising with the situation.  The answer is to stand firm in our belief and double down in our calling and commitment to Christ.

Just as much as he wept, Jesus found time to celebrate.  He went to weddings and dinner parties and loved the celebration of those for whom he performed miracles.  Sarah and John's parents both were filled with joy when their prayers were finally answered and they didn't mind sharing their adulation with others.  As we found out, not everyone is going to be happy that we are happy.  Jesus was ridiculed for performing miracles just as much as he was praised and so did those who were healed.  When we share our joy, not everyone is going to receive it gladly.  We can't allow their decision to receive our joy and gladness poorly prevent us from celebrating, though, because somebody out there is looking for something to inspire them.  Something to give them hope. And our joy might just be that glimmer of light for their situation.

So get emotional!  Let out your tears.  It might be the thing that brings your situation through, and it might just be a good way to release your sorrow.  But even in our weeping, let's not forget our calling and commitment to God.  And when it's time to laugh, don't let others be a downer on your joy and gladness.  Somebodies watching who will be blessed and one day that person who is bitter now will appreciate you for beating the drum of praise.

What are your thoughts?  Tell us in the comments which of these seasons sticks out to you and how you've handled similar times in the past.  There's no wrong answers.  Just honest ones.