It only hurts when I laugh

The 1990 football World Cup in Italy brought some complete unknowns into the spotlight.

One of the best players then was England's PAUL GASCOIGNE who, at 23, amazed the world with his skill. He wasn't famous just for his ball control but also for his sense of humour.

It was he who put a spoon in a team mate's sandwich, and asked a veteran player on the ground if his arthritis was playing him up again.

He also asked his trainer for some kiddies' aspirin when the match referee was floored after colliding with another player. When the yellow card fell out of the referee's pocket, Gazza picked it up and gave the ref a yellow card!

Our fast, modern lifestyle seems to have killed off our sense of humour.

I am not meaning we should be playing pranks all the time but let's loosen up just a little! I mean, where has the joy gone?

God has laid some guidelines down in his word about our inner life and one of them is that we should be bubbling on the inside.

Modern living has all it takes to make us depressed, sad and down in the mouth. Hundreds, including children, die each day in situations that shouldn't exist.

Loneliness, haste, consumerism, hatred, envy and similar ills have become true cancers of our times. However, life takes on a completely different dimension when we know that not everything ends here.

Yes, however dark the outlook is, our personal relationship with God teaches us that the heart has the right to be cheerful and to cheer up. No matter how tough the present situation may be, the Christian can look on the bright side to an eternity of joy ahead.

So how is your heart doing? Can it find the funny side to life? The Bible says that when our heart is happy it makes the face cheerful. And those around us will see that our happiness is rooted in God.

When our heart is downcast, if we cannot say or see something funny at least once a day, our faces will show it; and who'll then believe us when we say God has changed our life? 

Never forget that God created happiness and he wants us to live with a joy inside that no one can take from us. So have you at least smiled today? 

Have you thanked God for being happy? Come on, I don't think it will hurt if you laugh just a bit.