Luke 6:25 “Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep.”

Why would Jesus tell people that they should be really concerned about laughing? Is laughing wrong? Actually, laughing has had good studies of the effects of it. But Jesus was not condemning laughing by itself, but the intentions behind it. I am going to share something that happened to me that expanded my view on love, seriousness, and foolishness.

One morning I woke up from sleep, got dressed, did all my normal routines, and walked out the door ready for the day to meet my friend for morning breakfast as I was invited to her house. As I walked down the street, there was a black dog with a red collar around its neck. I walked past it, made a kissing sound to indicate I was friendly, and quickly made eye contact with it.

Little did I know this dog was now afraid of me or something of the sort, so as I crossed the street to the other sidewalk, I turned around and noticed the dog walking right behind me, and the next thing I know, it leaps up to my upper leg and bites me pretty good!

Immediately I was furious; I wanted to take the dog out of this world. Because I didn’t do anything for it to bite me like that. I told my friend who I met, and we went to the hospital. I have visited this hospital before over a smaller dog bite incident, and the staff were extremely immature, and about five different staff members ridiculed me and laughed loudly all at once over me not thoroughly cleaning a wound correctly. The oldest medical personal is the one that inicaited it.

So I was expecting the same immature spirit there, and I guessed right. As I was in the office, I had to explain to six different people the same information that their colleagues had already written down in front of them. None of them considered that I was in pain, upset, and mentally drained because of the communication gap (Spanish, English).

It was very discouraging and disorganized for a hospital. When another staff member came, the lady who already wrote my information down and heard what actually happened told me to repeat myself in English to this male nurse. Judging by their attitudes, I was taken as a joke to practice English on and used to impress other staff members. They both thought it was a funny situation; these are grown adults who are medical personnel. Maybe she did think it would be better to explain in English, but after seeing them both take the situation lightly, I knew that wasn’t the case.

The male nurse did not actually speak English, just a word or two. My face was saying I am exhausted and upset and in pain, but there was rarely any noticeable concern. After exiting and waiting outside with other patients, I started to complain, and all the patients looked at me and agreed on the criticisms of the hospital. They had problems of their own and most likely were in pain too. They all understand my frustration and genuinely listened. Most likely they too went through difficulties with the inconsiderate staff.

After leaving the hospital, my friend told me the owner of the dog apologized indirectly to me over a text on her phone. Even though she gave the owner my number to text me personally, I never received a text from her. Or had any compensation of any sort for the injury. The owner’s sister actually stopped by at my friend’s house while I was taking a rest and saw my injury firsthand and gasped at it. I was upset that the owner was so half-hearted and didn’t even apologize to me directly in person or over text and that she didn’t take real responsibility for her dog.

[Update: She did apologize later, but the real concern wasn’t there even in person].

After going through all of that, I sat down and was wondering why so many frustrating and bad things happened to me in such a short time. I talked to God about it to get answers, and then I understood that those things happened to me to show me that I needed to improve in relationships and how I treated others.

Not that I was behaving foolishly or not trying to be loving; it just hit me a lot more deeply and personally how I can come across to others if I didn’t care more. So it made me want to care more and be more loving. Jesus said we can ask for more of his love or spirit, and when we do, He will present it to us in mysterious ways that we couldn’t see before. That is what happened to me in this story (Luke 11:13).

I noticed that the foolish behavior in the hospital (from both visits there) felt like it took love by the throat and choked it until it wasn’t there anymore. This foolishness can leave people feeling like they’re not valued, especially when an individual is going through difficult times. When people are going through tough times, they want someone who takes them seriously and has love as a tool to comfort them.

In Proverbs, Solomon echoes the same sort of feelings he himself experienced when dealing with foolish people.

Proverbs 29:9 “If a wise man contendeth with a foolish man, whether he rage or laugh, there is no rest.”

Jesus said, “And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man.
For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, FOOLISHNESS: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.” (Mark 7:20-23)

Jesus did not appreciate foolish behavior; he was serious himself, and love was his main quality he was known for. Foolishness is actually a quality that Jesus says damages your spirit. We need to be like Jesus and be sober-minded. Jesus said the closer we get to the end times, the more people will be cold, unloving, cruel, heartless, and selfish. The cure for these bad qualities is love and care.

John says, “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.” (1 John 4:7)

Like the people I talked to in the waiting room, they were sober-minded and just wanted someone to care and talk to about their difficulties. So, let’s put in more effort to love, be sober-minded (serious), and keep away from foolishness. There are times when Jesus said we will laugh, but let it come naturally in love.

Luke 6:21 “Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.”