When I got into comedy I was very quickly intoxicated with getting laughs from an audience. It makes you feel really, really good. It feels validating. You feel like the coolest person in the room. It was great, but man was it fleeting.
It didn't take long for me to realize that "getting laughs" wasn't going to keep being fulfilling. There had to be more to it. That's when God introduced me to making people laugh for a cause. Through a couple of good friends, I was able to see that my gift to make people laugh was something that God could use to advance His kingdom. That was when I found the sweet spot.
Recently my father-in-law pointed me to a story where Jerry Seinfeld spoke about how he has dark feelings quite a bit but doing comedy keeps him out of that. I think that sums up the worldly mindset pretty well. We look for meaning in the world and find none. So we decide to humor ourselves until we die. We figure that must be the way to make it through. That's how I felt about making people laugh. It felt good on stage but it ended up being pretty empty.
We find fulfillment when we are doing what God has made us to do. God made us to do something that that honors Him and helps others. Everytime I book a fundraiser, I (honestly) laugh out loud because I can't beleive I get to do this. I get to make people laugh, inspire them, encourage them, point them to awesome work of God, and help them to feel the incredible joy of partnering financially with a ministry that speaks to their hearts.
Making people laugh is certainly fun. However, inviting people to find joy in giving to organizations that are reaching out to the most vulnerable...is on a whole other level.
