Humor: Harmful, Helpful and Just Plain Fun

"A joyful heart is good medicine, But a broken spirit dries up the bones." - Proverbs 17:22
These words are familiar words to Christian people the world over. Most Chrisitans understand that life has some difficulties in it, but in the midst of those difficulties, God has given us an inner joy that sustains us and buoys us over the tumultuous times. Everyone has difficulties, but not everyone has joy to see them through. For those people, someone needs to carry the message of joy to them in song or dramatic presentation or some other form. Sometimes, joy can be carried to another simply in a joke or a funny face.

I tend to be a happy person. I'm not always happy, of course, but for the most part I'm a happy person. In fact, just the other day I was caught by some church friends skipping with my second son to his pre-K program. He wanted to skip; so, I skipped with him. Apparently, much to the amusement of my friends. They now call me skippy. I was in a hospital room once with a friend of mine who had broken his toe. Some elderly lady (I later learned she was like in her 90's) came to visit. My friend had his foot (the one with the broken toe on it) elevated on a pillow sticking out from under the cover. This lady comes in and grabs his broken toe and said, "I heard you broke your toe. How you feelin'?" I nearly fell in the floor laughing! My friend nearly fell in the floor, too, but he wasn't laughing. In fact, we still laugh about that episode, today, and it happened probably 10 or 15 years ago.

When we communicate joy to another whether it be in the form of a joke or simply laughing with someone who is laughing, we need to remember that the final goal simply isn't to make a person laugh. Ephesians 4 teaches us that no unwholesome word is to proceed out of our mouths. It also says that we are to refrain from course talk and silly jesting. That doesn't mean we have to be prudes, but it does mean that our humor should be decidedly different from the humor of the world. I remember sitting in the hospital room just recently with some friends of mine and the janitor came in and told us a dirty joke. I encouraged him to refrain from doing that, but he did it anyway. The sad part of that story is that the guy went on to tell us how he was a deacon at his church and that he just loved the Lord.

Let me offer my own confession. Those who know me know that I love jokes and I like to play jokes on people. On more than one occasion, I've offended others with my antics because they didn't see my jokes as funny. Just recently I had to repent and seek forgiveness from one I inadvertently offended with one of my jokes. If something you think is funny is perceived as questionable or inappropriate by another, you do well to keep your mouth closed and be thought a fool, rather than open it and remove all doubt! Another word to the wise, if in your desire to share joy with another you find that you've offended someone, you do well to seek forgiveness immediately.

There is no doubt that there are a lot of joy-starved folks in the world. A timely word of encouragement, a joke or a good silly situation might be all a person needs to get them through an otherwise dreary day. Wherever you can, allow God's joy to permeate through your personality and practice so that others can catch a glimpse of God's joy. Just make sure your humor is helpful and fun and never harmful.

Image Problem?

It has been said by many theologians and churchmen that each generation is charged with the responsibility to carry the Gospel to their generation. I’ve heard interesting reasons for why that is, but most of them seem to deal with the symptoms of the problem rather than the root of the problem. For instance, in recent time many church growth experts have poured their research effort into understanding and, then, accommodating the baby boomer. Church services and ministry approaches have been tailored to the unique characteristics and quirky idiosyncrasies of that demographic all with the intent of reaching them with the Gospel. Such holds true for the baby buster generation, generation x’ers and the millenniums. It seems that there is a unique approach to church for each unique age group / demographic, but why? Why is there a need to change the presentations / methodologies for each subsequent generation?

I submit to you that the reason isn’t as much to communicate the timeless truths of the Gospel as it is to defend the timeless truths of the Gospel. With every generation we get a little closer to the return of Christ. And, with every generation we get a little further into the last days. The result of the latter is that each generation begins to re-create God into their own image. Is this not a result of the curse? According to Genesis 1 we were created in the image of God. We were a replica of the Holy God of the universe, but because of sin that image has been broken or scared.

Through out the pages of history mankind has been futile in his effort to recreate that once unsullied image of God contained within every person. As Paul so eloquently stated the fact in Romans 1 and 2 each generation of humanity that has arisen has be content to worship the created rather than the creator. The ultimate expression of that rank sinfulness is to attempt, upon one’s own, to create himself into the image of God. This amounts to nothing more than idolatry. We in the western, civilized world may not carve an image and bow down to it, but we do worship various and sundry things / principles / philosophies / etc… in an attempt to find peace and purpose.

Back to the proposition…The attempt on the part of the church to repackage the Gospel (when it is done from pure motive) isn’t so much an attempt to reach the community or age demographic with the Gospel as much as it is an attempt to rebuke the inherited selfishness found in each generation since Adam with their sin and need of a Savior.

Every generation of humanity, since Adam, has attempted to recreate God into their own image.
In the church growth movement, we have sought to reach each generation with different methodologies that appeal to that generation’s perceived / felt needs, which in fact, are but expressions of their sinful desire to recreate God in their own image. The true church growth movement employs different methodologies in an effort to repackage the Gospel so that it can rebuke that particular generation’s sinful attempt to recreate God in their image by presenting the pure, unadulterated truth of who God is.