Ecclesiastes 2:2

Is laughter good or bad?

PROBLEM: Sometimes the Bible speaks as though laughter is good and other times as though it is bad. Solomon concluded, “I said of laughter, `It is madness’; and of mirth, `What does it accomplish?’ ”(Ecclesiastes 2:2). He added that “sorrow is better than laughter” (7:3). Jesus added, “Woe to you who laugh now” (Luke 6:25). On the other hand, the Bible encourages laughter, claiming that “a merry heart does good, like medicine” (Proverbs 17:22). Solomon even “commended enjoyment, because a man has nothing better under the sun than to eat, drink, and be merry” (Ecclesiastes 8:15).

SOLUTION: The answer lies in another verse. “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven … a time to laugh; a time to mourn” (Ecclesiastes 3:1; Ecclesiastes 3:4). What the Bible says about laughter can be summarized in the following contrast. In riotous derision