Sorrow or Laughter?

"It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart. Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools. For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool: this also is vanity" (Eccl. 7:2-6). Now that doesn’t sound to me much like the cheery Christian Gospel of today. Let’s see what Jesus said about this. Surely he made a change in these things, and got things into a more ‘positive’ light. "Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh… Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep" (Lk. 6:21,25). It seems also I remember a certain sorrowful woman who washed Jesus’ feet with her tears, and dried them with her hair. I also recall that she obtained favor from Jesus while those around him who were feasting procured disdain from the Master (Lk. 7:36:50). And for good measure I suppose we should also check this with the apostle’s new testament doctrine: "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up" (Jas. 4:9,10). So it is unanimous that the same holy Ghost mindset is consistent throughout the Bible, that sorrow is better than laughter. Sorrow reaches a deeper place in the spirit than laughter, and if one does the right thing with it, it can have a very deeply cleansing effect on the soul; even as the following proverb attests to: "The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil" (Prov. 20:30). Friend, this is a truth and reality that we should soberly consider, and take the more earnest heed to. As Job said, who knew more than his share of sorrow: "Behold, the fear of the LORD, that IS wisdom; and to depart from evil IS understanding” (Job 28:28). And all I can say is Amen.