May
Are we too Funny?
6 comments so far
I’ve often joked that our campus {my friend Nick called it a compound – I miss that guy} is covered by the spirit of sarcasm. Seriously – it’s near epidemic and I’m one of those enjoying {almost} every minute of it.
But I’ve been wondering lately if we take our joking too far? As Christ followers I mean.
There is this part of the Bible that makes me wonder -
4 Though some tongues just love the taste of gossip, those who follow Jesus have better uses for language than that. Don’t talk dirty or silly. That kind of talk doesn’t fit our style. Thanksgiving is our dialect {Message}
or another wording…
4 neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. {New King James}
So my thoughts are where am I guilty of the overly silly, foolish talking/course jesting part? And how does this relate to freedom as Christ followers? I know there are easy answers to this question but I don’t really want those easy answers. I want to be free – but reverent at the same time.
Did Jesus use sarcasm? British humor? Or maybe some physical comedy – like pretending to fall and bleed but then reminding everyone the He can heal anything – so why are they freaking out? See, was that over the line? I think Jesus was probably very funny – I mean, God HAS to be funny…right?
Travis
Tagged as: Life
6 comments to “Are we too Funny?”
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BY blaze on May 9th, 2008 at 9:29 am
Travis, I “think” the course joking is centered around distasteful joking, much like most of the comedy movies that are out now. While these movies are funny, what are doing for our thoughts, corruption. These course jokes may also offend others thus affecting out ministry
BY the bratt on May 9th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
hey T, i see where you’re going with this, and blaze, i agree. doesn’t the Bible also say that whatever offends your brother, not to do it. i think a lot of things go deeper, but as far as joking goes, i think it does come down to the context in which we are using or speaking it and how it’s received by the receiver. i have to say that Jesus, God and the Spirit all have a sense of humor as well. if not, how did Christian comedy come into play as a ministry? (i dunno, just a thought of blabbering)
BY josh benser on May 9th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
hey travis, im kinda freeked out that you are in my head right now. in nearly everything you have written lately there are things that either i was going to post or did post, but this is not one of them. on this note when i think about the community that is the Body, i can only think that sarcasm when its geared to adam hardegree is ok.(maybe im sarcastic sometimes) but beyond that we should be careful. also sarcasm could have a tendency to exclusive.. there for dividing “the community”. by the way, do you know anything about a cow tounge floating around the compound that landed in the back of my truck?
BY Travis on May 9th, 2008 at 6:37 pm
Wow, maybe I struck a nerve with this one…and apparently Josh and I are living parallel thought lives – so where did I put my keys Josh? Where would Josh have put them?
And I know nothing about a tongue – well only that you accused someone of putting it in your truck who claims he had nothing to do with it. Honestly, I know nothing – and that’s pretty much a blanket statement – use it wherever you like.
BY tylan on May 11th, 2008 at 12:18 am
Ok, the tongue thing kinda freaks me out…is that a southern thing?
To the humor question…there is a ton of humor in the Bible. My personal favorite, though I can’t remember the reference off the top of my head, was when Paul (I think) was ripping on those of the circumcision. The short version is: if you think you are so spiritual, why stop with circumcision?! Take the whole thing off and show what kind of a spiritual man you really are!
Driscoll did a message on humor in his early 2008 Religion Saves and 9 Other Misconceptions series. He pushes the line–on purpose–but hits the ponderence you are dealing with head on. He captured a number of passages that I’ve always figured had to be funny (though I may not have laughed out loud at Backwater Baptist). He also does a good job of pushing the paradigm that everything in scripture has to be sober and serious all the time.
At the same time, the posts above point out that there are some definite lines that get crossed quick if you aren’t careful. When it comes to sarcasm, I think the risk of division is one, but moreso, I think the tendency for sarcasm is to lead to a jaded, maybe even cynical, view of things. Not that I’d know anything about those concepts personally…
BY Travis Schrock on May 12th, 2008 at 8:15 am
The tongue thing…I’m not sure I understand what’s going on – but it sounds funny.
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