Most of us know that laughter is good for us. It eases stress, strengthens relationships, lightens the workplace, and boosts our overall sense of well‑being. Proverbs puts it plainly: “A cheerful heart is good medicine.” And honestly, who among us couldn’t use a refill.

               But humor, like everything else, needs healthy boundaries. We don’t have to be stand‑up comedians or laugh at every mishap. And “put‑down humor”—the kind that gets a chuckle by bruising someone else—doesn’t heal anything. It just dries up the bones faster.

               What we need is the kind of humor that grows out of a joyful, grounded way of seeing the world. And believe it or not, Jesus modeled that beautifully.

               Jesus wasn’t the stone‑faced figure we sometimes imagine. He used humor—sharp, surprising, and downright funny—to open people’s eyes. When he talked about someone obsessing over the speck in another person’s eye while ignoring the log in their own, that wasn’t just a teaching. That was comedy. Picture someone with a telephone pole sticking out of their face saying, “Hold still, I think you’ve got a little something right there.”

               Or his line about straining out a gnat but swallowing a camel. That’s ancient satire. Jesus knew that sometimes the best way to expose our blind spots is to make us laugh at them.

               And that’s the invitation for us today. We can choose joy over cynicism. We can practice humor that lifts people up instead of tearing them down. We can resist becoming a “Negative Nate”—the person who finds the downside of winning the lottery—and instead cultivate the kind of cheerful heart that heals.

               Life is serious enough. Faith gives us permission to smile anyway. And the Great Physician still prescribes a good laugh.