Slapping On The Plaster

Slapping on the Plaster

A cheerful heart is good medicine.

Proverbs 17:22

As a preacher for some fifty years, I learned that people paid better attention if I told a funny story now and then to help make my points. That kept them awake long enough to pull them through the more serious Bible teaching I needed to do. As my old African American preacher friend Marshall Keeble used to say, “If you want to teach my people something important, first you’ve got to get them laughing. Then you can slap the plaster on, and it’ll stick every time.”

One of my favorite stories is about two soldiers in a combat zone. Bullets were flying, and each of these soldiers took a running dive into a nearby foxhole, ending up in the foxhole together. While they were ducking the incoming fire from the enemy, they had the following conversation:

“Hey, there, my name’s Henry. What’s yours?”

“Well, that’s funny, because my name is Henry too!”

“No kidding. Where are you from?”

“I’m from Memphis, Tennessee. How about you?”

“No! Really? Well, I’m from Memphis too! Say, what part of town do you live in?”

“I live over in the Rock Creek area. You?”

“I don’t believe this! I live in the Rock Creek area.”

“Well, I’ll be. What street do you live on?”

“I live on Presley Avenue—you know, named for Elvis. How about you?”

“Well, now, you’re just not going to believe this, but I live on Presley Avenue too! Say, what’s your house number?”

“My house is at 4703 Presley. Do we live close together?”

“Uh, I’d say so, because my house number is 4703 too.”

“No! Hey, wait a minute. What’s your wife’s name?”

“My wife’s name is Georgia.”

“Now, doesn’t that just beat all—my wife’s name is Georgia too. You know what? I think we must be husbands-in-law!”

—Clyde Shrode

Thank you, Lord, for laughter. It is such a soul-refreshing treat. Amen.