While I am not a huge advocate for being on medication long term if it can be avoided, there are three types of medicine that are listed in the Bible that I believe we should take daily and in abundance because we can never overdose on them: laughter, joy, and kindness.

Medicines are supposed to treat ailments. They are supposed to make us feel better. Medicine is supposed to return us to health so that we can enjoy life more fully. And these three “medications” do that.

1. Laughter is the best medicine.

Psalms 126:2, “We were filled with laughter, and we sang for joy. And the other nations said, “What amazing things the Lord has done for them.”

As we grow into adulthood, we soon forget to take our daily dose of laughter medicine. Studies have shown babies and children laugh hundreds of times a day. Adults, on the other hand, often barely make it to double digits. Even joyful people can feel weighed down by the pressures and heartaches of life. But Jesus tells us, “So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven,” Matthew 18:4.

Maybe it’s time to turn your troubles over to God and become more like a child—full of joy and laughter. We need to take time and make time to laugh. As Ecclesiastes 3:1 & 4 remind us:

“For everything, there is a season,
a time for every activity under heaven.”
“A time to cry and a time to laugh.
A time to grieve and a time to dance.”

If you’ve been on this planet for more than a few years, you know life isn’t one big laugh. It’s filled with difficult trials. Even so, the Bible declares there is “a time to laugh.” Some ways to incorporate more laughter into your life include talking to a friend with a good sense of humor, retelling a funny story from the past, or playing a practical joke on a good friend or family member. Need another idea? Spending time around children or pets is a surefire way to ramp up the laughter.

2. A cheerful heart is good medicine.

“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength,” Proverbs 17:22.

A cheerful heart is also a joyful heart, or a heart full of joy. Don’t keep joy to yourself. Share the “good medicine” of a joyful heart with others. Have you brought joy or laughter to someone today? If not, think of a way you can make one person laugh. It’ll bring joy to both of your hearts.

There are over 300 verses in the Bible that refer to joy, joyful, or other related words. A joyful person is one who is also full of integrity.

“Joyful are people of integrity, who follow the instructions of the Lord,” Psalms 119:1.

We should make it a practice to be joyful and help others to be full of joy just as God makes us joyful as Psalms 30:11-12 says:

“You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing.
You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy,
that I might sing praises to you and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever!”

There are some issues in life that are serious and difficult to deal with, but let us not take ourselves too seriously. I’m suggesting that we become more lighthearted, relishing life more as our confidence in the sovereign Lord grows. After all, He gave us the humor to enjoy and genuine smiles to share when we take pleasure in His gift.

Let’s lighten up rather than surrender to intensity and worry. A truly cheerful face radiates from a relaxed, joyful heart. A few things in life are absolutely tragic, no question about it. But a joyless Christian, that’s ridiculous! Like laughter, joy is contagious

In Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi Chapter 4 verse 4, he encourages, “Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again — rejoice!”

3. Kindness, like honey, is sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.

The third medicine that we should consume and share with others each day is a very healthy dose of kindness.

Proverbs 16:24, “Kind words are like honey — sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.”

Stanford University reveals a growing body of scientific evidence that indicates kindness holds the power to heal. We now know that this often overlooked, virtually cost-free remedy has a statistically significant impact on our physical health. For example, the positive effect of kindness is even greater than that of taking aspirin to reduce the risk of a heart attack or the influence of smoking on mortality. And, it doesn’t even require a trip to the pharmacy.

Scientific research now shows that kindness has the following side effects:

• faster healing of wounds
• reduced pain
• reduced anxiety
• reduced blood pressure
• shorter hospital stays

Are you taking the medicine of laughter, joy, and kindness each day? If you do, you may be able to discontinue other medicines that do not have nearly the positive effect.