“Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.”–Ecc. 7:3
Every once in a while you hear something that turns your thoughts upside down, or in this case right side up! A good example of this is found in Ecc.7:3 where Solomon says, “Sorrow is better than laughter“. And you’re probably thinking, “You’ve got to be kidding!”. To our way of thinking it is much better to laugh than to cry. This just goes to show that our thoughts are not always God’s thoughts ( Isa. 55:8-9). Our question is “How can this be?” Solomon gives us the answer–“ for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.”
What’s best for our soul isn’t always the most pleasing to our senses. This is not to say that laughter isn’t good for us. The Bible says, “A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance”(Prov. 15:13), “a merry heart doeth good like a medicine“(Prov. 17:22). But laughter is not nearly so transforming as sorrow is. We are strengthened by our struggles. If you don’t believe it just spend some time with a Spirit-filled Christian who is suffering or terminally ill. You will learn more from him in an hour than from the party hearty crowd in a lifetime. Contrary to what you might think or feel, sometimes the best things that happen to us brings tears to our eyes. That’s why the Psalmist said, “It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.”(Psa. 119:71).When God promised that “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.“(Rom. 8:28) that includes the things that make us cry. –HDS
