A sour and negative disposition discourages people and relationships. A sense of humor, smiles, warmth, and optimism are important ways to encourage each other. So develop a joyful spirit. “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones” (Prov. 17:22). Laughing together is a sweet way to refresh your spirits and draw closer together.

Your children and your own human foibles should provide plenty of material for humor. Of course, God, sin, heaven, and hell are not laughing matters; we must never respond to the truths of God with levity. But there is much in life that we should not take so seriously. Learn to laugh at situations that are not inherently weighty. It’s a way of saying, “The Lord is with us despite our idiosyncrasies.”

JOEL R. BEEKE, NURTURING INTIMATE COMMUNICATION WITH YOUR SPOUSE (PRJ 9, 1 [2017]), 273.