Where Do Bad Rainbows Go?

Where do bad rainbows go? My daughter called me the other day from college to ask me that question. You may have surmised that it is a joke, a pun. My husband refuses to laugh at puns – even if they’re funny – on some moral principle that puns are an especially bad form of humor, but I love them. I will pass them on (even to him) every chance I get.

I figure I’m doing a good thing. We’re familiar with the verse in Proverbs that says a merry heart does good, like medicine. And you know that’s true. We distract children from the pain of a shot or a scraped knee with a funny face or a silly song, and even as adults, when someone or something makes us laugh, we momentarily forget our troubles and worries.

But according to the Mayo Clinic, laughter can literally help heal your body. Laughing forces more air into your lungs so more oxygen goes into your body. It increases the endorphins released from your brain. These not only make you feel good, but they affect your cardiovascular system, decreasing your blood pressure and heart rate and improving your circulation. Long term, laughter fights the effects of stress on your body and can improve your immune system, relieve pain, improve your mood, and even help you lose weight.

God didn’t have to create us with a sense of humor, but He did, simply for our enjoyment and health. We have times of joy and laughter now, but there are several passages in the Bible that speak of laughter in the future, when our hearts and bodies are free of pain and worry and we have full freedom and joy in the Lord. That seems almost unreal now because of the world we live in, but the moments of joy and laughter we experience here give us another glimpse into the world to come.

One more thing laughter does is encourage connection with others. Almost everyone likes to hear a joke. Telling one is an easy way to make difficult situations a little easier or break barriers and forge the beginning of a relationship with a coworker or someone you regularly encounter. They might laugh at your joke now, but, through you, may eventually come to know the joy that lasts forever.

So where do bad rainbows go? To prism. But it’s a light sentence and gives them time to reflect.