Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.
Sorrow is better than laughter because sadness seen in the face makes the heart better, so grief does more inward good than merriment by improving the inner person. This belongs with the wisdom of going to mourners rather than to feasters, because death is the end of all people and the living lay it to heart. Sorrow is better because it draws people to God.
Pain and sickness can make the heart better by helping people think clearly and respect God's laws, including the connection between actions and their consequences. Laughter is less valuable because too much joy cheapens joy and becomes wearisome. In national mourning over the country's calamity, grief is better because affliction is meant to correct and to do good, calling for humility, repentance, and prayer.
Sorrow is better than laughter because sadness seen in the face makes the heart better, so grief does more inward good than merriment by improving the inner person. This belongs with the wisdom of going to mourners rather than to feasters, because death is the end of all people and the living lay it to heart. Sorrow is better because it draws people to God.
Pain and sickness can make the heart better by helping people think clearly and respect God's laws, including the connection between actions and their consequences. Laughter is less valuable because too much joy cheapens joy and becomes wearisome. In national mourning over the country's calamity, grief is better because affliction is meant to correct and to do good, calling for humility, repentance, and prayer.