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| | Within Family Circle | | | | Tuesday, June 24, 2008 (7:38 PM) | | Humor can be put to work within the home. One husband says: “It’s as useful to me as a multipurpose tool is to an auto mechanic because it does so many things. It protects, encourages, opens up fruitful conversations, breaks down preconceived ideas, and turns troublesome words into those that are reasonable and considerate.”
A sense of humor is especially helpful when irritating habits threaten to strain relations. Your son forgets to put his toys away despite repeated admonition to do so. Your husband leaves his dirty clothes on the bathroom floor. Your wife burns supper. Finding fault, shaming, blaming, yelling, or screaming only worsens matters. One health researcher, quoted in Redbook magazine, noted: “If you confront a person or ridicule him, he’ll become defensive. Humor invites people to look at their behavior from a distance—and change it.”
This does not mean making fun of the person guilty of the indiscretion. That usually brings pain, not laughter. Try directing your humor toward the situation itself. Having a good laugh may do much to ease the tension. Says one wife: “There are times when my husband sees I’m about to get angry, and he softens it with some humorous remark or action. Before I know it, I’m laughing. Then I realize it wasn’t that serious after all.”
A few words of caution, though. Avoid trying to be funny when a situation calls for seriousness or compassion. Note Proverbs 25:20: “He that is removing a garment on a cold day is as vinegar upon alkali and as a singer with songs upon a gloomy heart.” Humor should be used only with due discretion, so as not to harm emotionally or physically. Never allow humor to be meanspirited or disrespectful. This would rule out allowing older children to make their younger siblings the constant butt of jokes. Gentle teasing is one thing, caustic comments quite another. Marriage mates must also strive to keep humor within bounds, not using it as a weapon of criticism or a means of belittling.
Poet Langston Hughes once wrote: “Like a welcome summer rain, humor may suddenly cleanse and cool the earth, the air, and you.” Truly, humor can play an important part in our lives. It can keep us from taking ourselves too seriously. It can help us stay cheerful and relaxed. It can smooth out relations with others. It can help us cope with adversity. It can even improve our health.
So put humor into your life. Discover it. Nurture it. Cultivate it. It’s bound to do wonders for you and those around you! | | | 101 Views | 0  Thumbs Up | 0 Comments |  |
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