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Sorrow is better than
laughter, for sadness has a refining influence on us.
Eccl 7:3 (NLT)
Sadness and sorrow have an assignment. They can produce a glad heart. Seems like an oxymoron, but it is true.
Although sadness is debilitating, lonely and, often, inconsolable—it
produces.
“How is that possible,” you might ask. What
kind of a “wise man” could proclaim in the Bible that sadness/sorrow is better
than laughter? Surely you jest!
(No pun intended.)
This same book in the Bible
says laughter is silly, meaningless and reserved for feasts. You are free to disagree if you wish.
What is more interesting to
note is what is said about sorrow. It
says it is better than laughter. The
main point here is sorrow teaches us, laughter pleases us.
What brings about
sorrow? Sickness, wayward children,
adverse circumstances related to love, money and relationships – many life
situations bring about sorrow and sadness.
But this condition also forces
us to ponder life, the decisions we have made, the people we are connected to,
the past, the present and the future.
Remember the story of Hannah
in the Bible found in the first book and chapter of Samuel? She could not have children and was teased because
of it. The teasing and her barren womb
produced a sorrow in her heart. Her face
was sad. She was so sad, that when she
went to the temple to pray, the temple priest noticed her sadness. But Hannah was also proud and arrogant—which,
as we know, are unattractive qualities. (Hannah
admits it in the second chapter of 1 Samuel.)
Already sadness is
producing. It prompted Hannah to pray
which means it produced humility. It
also produced a willingness in Hannah to communicate with God.
This scripture says that
sadness makes the heart glad. Sadness
does something that changes the heart’s condition from one place to
another. Since we normally understand
the heart to be the inner essence of a person’s existence, where decision making,
wisdom and understanding reside, it is of equal importance to note how we make better
decisions after a season of sorrow. We
have an appreciation for the gifts in life that wasn’t there before.
For example, a decision to
judge someone is, naturally, wrong. But,
if we find ourselves in the same condition as someone we judged, our face will
become sad. That sad face often produces
a sense of isolation which leads to thinking about our actions. Often, we make a decision not to make the
same bad mistake again, because we don’t like the consequences.
It is the same way with an
ex-offender. Stealing often leads to
being arrested. Being arrested means
being incarcerated physically. But
psychologically, an offender may also sit in bondage questioning the logic of
their actions. Thus, a new decision is
made to pay for future purchases and the heart is now filled with wisdom and
understanding.
To make something means to
bring it into existence. What does
sadness bring (or make) real?
Sadness produced wisdom. (I better think about this act before I do
it.)
Sadness produces a
willingness to do what is right. (If
paying my bills means I will not be in debt, then I will pay my bills.)
Sadness produces a cheerful
heart, a joyfulness in the mind. 1
Samuel 2 reveals that God heard and answered Hannah’s prayerful request for a
child. She is now filled with joy and
rejoicing in the Lord.
That is not to say that if
God doesn’t give us what we want, we can’t rejoice in or after sorrow. Instead, it means that sometimes God uses
adverse situations and difficult people to groom us and refine us. God needs to take what is useless in our
hearts and replace it with something better.
Sadness has produced in me an
appreciation for life. Sorrow has
prompted me to examine the health of many past relationships thus producing an
awareness of appropriate behavior and boundaries for future relationships. Thank God for sorrow.
What “better” things has
sadness produced in your heart?
