One of the oddities of life in the internet age is that I have some very close friends whom I have never met in real life. Mike Leake is among those men. We exchange emails often. Mike has a sense of humor very close to mine. If you saw our exchanges, you might think we need some sort of arbitration to work out of our differences. I send him insulting emails and tweets and he responds in kind. I mean, folks, the guy cheers for the Kansas City Royals and he makes (I’m not joking here) the worst predictions on NFL games that you will find. I would be tempted to read his predictions and bet against his choices. I think I would make lots of money. Too bad the Baptist police say that we Baptist preachers are not allowed to gamble.
A Brouhaha at SBC Voices
Last Friday, Mike put a post in pending on our dashboard and contacted me to let me know it was there. He had changed his blog and thus had disappeared from our feed. He had emailed Tony and nothing had been done to get him back on the feed. Tony’s M.O. is to get busy and work around the clock on SBC Voices – in spurts. Nothing had yet been done and so Mike wrote a sarcastic spoof post about this giant conspiracy Tony and I had engaged in against him. Evidently, that little article created a little bit of stir!
It is probably proof of my lack of spiritual maturity or some kind of personal defect (I blame my dad; my sense of humor was inherited) that caused me to find that piece both funny and brilliant. So, I set the post (contrary to Mike’s spoof, I was actually the one who hit the publish button on that piece) to go up early on Saturday morning.
I got up Saturday and left around 7 am to drive to Des Moines for a 10 am BCI administrative team meeting. While on the road, I got a text from a good friend warning me that I needed to get on the site. Evidently, he (and many others) did not realize it was a joke. I thought Mike’s post was so clearly a spoof that no one would take it seriously. Obviously, I was wrong. So, at risk to my own life and those sharing I-80 with me, I added a comment identifying this as a spoof. A lot of people thought that our little joke was inappropriate, unChristian, or a waste of time.
The brouhaha that resulted from that post led me back to a post I had begun long ago and then abandoned – discussing a Christian view of humor. Is it okay for a Christian to laugh? What is appropriate for us to laugh at? Are there principles that can guide us in the use of humor? I’d like to take this moment and reflect on those principles. Feel free to interact and suggest your own guidelines.
A Caveat
I was always the class clown in school, the guy who made jokes about everything. When things are tense, my instinct is to make a humorous observation, a bad pun, or a jesting insult in an effort to diffuse the tension. Sometimes, that has been effective, at other times it has been received poorly. I’ve joked with people who took my jokes seriously and were deeply offended by what I’ve said.
My personal prejudice is to say, “Hey, guys, laugh it off! Don’t take things so seriously.” But I realize that this may not be the most biblical or spiritual response there. But each of us comes to the subject of humor from our own experiences and upbringing. I came by my rather odd sense of humor honestly.
A few years ago, the Executive Director of the Missouri Baptist Convention (at the time) came to Iowa for a BCI meeting. I was chatting with him and suddenly he stopped and looked at me. “Wait a minute,” he said. “Is your dad crazy Lew Miller?” Yes, I told him. My dad is crazy Lew Miller. When he was one of the first Southern Baptist pastors in Iowa and Iowa Baptist work was just an association of the Missouri convention, my dad got a well-earned reputation for the shenanigans he pulled, especially at Windermere Baptist Assembly.
I cannot tell you how many times someone who knows the both of us has shaken their head and said, “You are a chip off the old block.”
So, all that to say that I have a unique twist on humor which is drawn more from my upbringing and heritage than, perhaps, from the Word of God. But I’d ask you to make that same admission – perhaps your views of humor are informed by your upbringing and personality, just as mine are. Those of you who use humor in your sermons and those of you who think it is wrong to do so – perhaps it is not just biblical concerns that drive us.
Three Foundational Biblical Principles
There are three biblical principles I would state, without proof. I think most of you would agree here, but it might be helpful to state them.
1) God created humor.
God made us with the capacity for and an appreciation of laughter. He created humor and laughter. Does anyone want to argue that humor is a product of the fall?
2) The Fall marred God’s creations, including humor.
When we fell into sin, the good gift of laughter, like everything else about humanity, was twisted. We can never say, “Do what comes naturally” when it comes to human behavior. My sense of humor and yours is prone to serve fleshly purposes and must be redeemed and transformed by the work of God within us. None of us has a perfectly godly sense of (or lack of a sense of) humor.
3) Humor is a “disputable” issue.
There is a universal standard of Christian sexual behavior – one man, one woman, pure before marriage, faithful after marriage, until death do us part. Black and white. Humor is not such an issue. I have one view, shaped by my experiences, and you have another. Observational humor comes naturally to me and is a part of who I am. It needs to be used under the Lordship of Christ. But if my sense of humor is different from yours, is that a problem?
We can each be ourselves while we walk under the Lordship of Christ and as we are being transformed to the image of Christ.
Principles for Christian Humor
1) Recognize that everyone does not have to be like me.
Some people will find something funny that others will not. We are in a culture in which people seem to enjoy finding offense and taking umbrage. We are well served to remember Paul’s words in Ephesians 4:2 to “(bear) with one another in love.” God saves many different kinds of people – some really weird ones at that! You don’t get to choose who your brothers and sisters are, you just have to accept them as family. If one person’s humor does not seem funny to you, then perhaps you could, instead of reacting in horror as if the other has committed some heinous sin, just “bear with” that person and accept them in love, in spite of the different perspective.
Spirit-filled Christians are not eager to take offense at their brothers and sisters.
On the other hand….
2) If your humor offends, take responsibility for it.
I cannot tell you how often I’ve seen it in a blogging discussion. Someone makes some sort of joke (or puts a stinkin’ emoticon next to an insult) and another person is offended by that “joke”. The person who made the joke (or the emoticon-negated insult) then says, “Lighten up, it was only a joke.”
But, if I make a joke and someone is offended by that joke, I must take responsibility for my joke and apologize. A Christian does not say, “This is who I am – you adjust to me.” The Christian yields to the other and serves in love.
If you read the comments in the original post, you will see an apology from Mike for any offense he gave. Mike wrote about Tony and me. Neither of us was offended – in fact, we thought it was hilarious. But Mike humbled himself and apologized. I didn’t think he needed to, but others did – and he did. I think that is a godly response.
It is not the action of a Spirit-filled Christian to be unconcerned about the feelings and responses of others. If I hurt someone, even unintentionally, I must humble myself and take responsibility.
3) Make sure you are joking with people, not joking about them.
There is a difference between harmless joking and ridicule. When I belittle someone, even in a joking manner, it is sinful. And passive aggressive. And fleshly. And whatever. Most of us violate this, but we must not. This is a fine line, but one that in our hearts we must maintain. Ephesians 4:29 says that our words must always build up and not tear down. There is no humor exception to that exhortation. If the intent of my joke is to put someone down, or to make others laugh at someone else, it may not be godly.
And if someone misreads my intent, see point 2.
4) Ridicule is not argument.
I wrote an article some time ago, and somehow a non-SBC big-time blogger read it. He did not like it. His response included no logical, biblical or theological argument. Nope. It was simply ridicule. He made jokes about me and others who held that position. I didn’t like that much. He didn’t care.
I have seen it all too often when we replace theological debate with personal ridicule. It scores points with our friends but it adds to the disruption and division in the body of Christ.
5) Don’t be a humor hypocrite.
Back a few years ago, during the Baptist Identity controversy, there was a spoof site that made fun of a small number of the “BI” guys. The site was witty and hilarious, but in my judgment, sometimes strayed beyond the boundaries of what I have come to see as acceptable in blog humor. But it was funny. Really funny.
One time, I got a complaint from one of the subjects of the spoof site’s posts. I had put a comment on indicating I thought something was really funny. This guy was offended that I would laugh at something that made fun of him. He may have had a point.
But, this guy was a humor hypocrite. Just a few days before, at a BI site, someone had posted an article with some biting (and insulting) humor about the other side. This man, who rebuked me for laughing at humor against him, had fallen all over himself to say how funny the article was that skewered the other side.
You cannot have one measure for jokes made about you and another for jokes you or your friends make about others. You cannot have one standard for jokes non-Calvinists make about Calvinists, and another for jokes Calvinists make about non-Calvinists. Whatever your standard of humor is, it has to apply both to your jokes and those others might make in your direction.
Humor is a funny issue (pun intended) for us as Christian bloggers. We each need to examine our words and motives, under the Lordship of Christ and in light of the Word of God and endeavor to see all our words and actions transformed into full Christlikeness.
I can’t believe you called me an oxegenated Mormon.
No, wait, that’s not what you said. 🙂
Doug Hibbard is an oxygenated Mormon.
Is that some sort of religious livestock or something?
I’m actually more of a caffeinated Moron, but that’s another discussion.
Think of Jesus with a sly grin on His face, when He told the woman at the well to go get her husband. I think, when she said she didn’t have one, His response was on the order of “Do ya think?….”. All the while with a grin.
How about the women caught in adultery. Do you think He was scowling when He asked “What happened all the stoners?”. Or when He said “Neither do I condemn you?”.
Do you think He was grumpy when He spoke of a camel going through a hole small enough to be drilled in a needle? And what do you suppose His expression was when the wine steward said He’d gotten the order all backwards at the wedding feast? I mean, He KNEW how they did it and He HAD TO know how surprised they’d be at the good stuff brought out last .. particularly when He could as easily have made the sort of wine they expected.
There are a lot of things that Jesus said and did, to which we attached sternness, rancor and meanness, which make a lot more sense if you see Him having a lot of fun rowing against the well-set Pharisaical perma-press grain. And about which His followers had a good laugh,
later.
It’s not just Bab-dists that have no sense of humor on the internet. Go to Quill dot com and look up their Dunder-Mifflen line of products. The ad copy (IMO) is obviously tongue-in-cheek. Then go to the legal pads and read the customer reviews. There are SO many people just don’t get it. I had no idea how many Dwight Shrutes there are in the world.
Glad you posted this, Dave.
Am I the only one who can’t stand watching “The Office”? It embarrasses me. Most of my friends and family just think its the best.
But, your point is well taken. A lot of people either don’t get or don’t appreciate sarcastic humor.
Go to Amazon.com and check out some product reviews, like the one for the banana slicer. They even featured the top ten products that have attracted funny reviews on their front page throughout August. Great stuff.
Good post. I really wish I laughed more. Humor not at the expense of others (not too much anyway) is good.
I like the line I heard somewhere, “I’m not laughing AT you. I’m laughing NEAR you.”
First, I want to say I appreciate the undertaking of shedding light on this subject. It’s one that we need to be aware of and not just laugh off. 😉
Second, I want to share a further thought I’ve had about Mike’s spoof post. However, let me say up front that my intent is not to pick on Mike, but I think there’s a point in it that may be worth discussing.
The thing that bothered me about the spoof post the most was that the humor seemed to be directly tied to unity vs. division. I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to publicly mock the call to Christian unity. As Dave has shared, the folks referred to in the spoof didn’t seem to take it that way and that’s not what Mike intended, but if we aren’t careful our sinful nature will have us laughing at something that is only funny because we are in fact called to unity. Also, to turn it around and say that it’s funny because we know there’s no chance of Mike ever really acting that way has problems as well. If we say that it’s not a slight at unity but is actually showing how united we are, then this tends more toward an arrogant attitude – one that believes we are above division.
That said, I don’t want to sound too stiff-necked on the issue because I think the public setting is a major factor in assessing the appropriateness of such humor. I can take a sarcastic tone with those that see me every week that I cannot take with a total stranger (or I guess I could but the outcome would be quite different – believe me, I’ve tried). So I think we must be very careful about what our humor is ultimately linked to and I think we must consider the audience very carefully.
I look forward to hearing others’ takes on this.
Grace and peace,
-Bob Browning
Bob,
I’m confused at how I was mocking the call to Chrstian unity. It was a satire that is actually mocking one of the seeds of disunity; namely, a heart drawn to contention and a refusal to believe the best instead of the worst.
I think we also need to recall that one of the traditional purposes of humor has been the court jester: i.e. someone who made fun of the king. The Royal Shakespeare Theatre–via the Wikipedia page “Jester”–offers this retrospective:
“In ancient times, courts employed fools and by the Middle Ages the jester was a familiar figure. In Renaissance times, aristocratic households in Britain employed licensed fools or jesters, who sometimes dressed as other servants were dressed, but generally wore a motley (i.e. parti-coloured) coat, hood with ass’s (i.e. donkey) ears or a red-flannel coxcomb and bells. Regarded as pets or mascots, they served not simply to amuse but to criticise their master or mistress and their guests. Queen Elizabeth (reigned 1558–1603) is said to have rebuked one of her fools for being insufficiently severe with her. Excessive behaviour, however, could lead to a fool being whipped, as Lear threatens to whip his fool.”
Preserving the role of humor to help make laughter truly the best medicine–i.e. the medicine that confronts our worst shortcomings–is something I believe we have an obligation to do as Christians. I realize that some believers think humor is too harsh to serve such a dignified purpose and I’m not being insensitive to them. But I believe that God designed mirth to be disarming and to create humility (at least once we’ve gotten over the humiliation.)
But the old saying that if you’re going to dish it you’ve got to be able to take it is especially true when we use humor bitingly to get a point across. And even when humor bites, it works best when it is clear that there truly is love behind it and that we’re tweaking and not simply destroying the other person.
I’m deeply offended by your dad’s humor.
Ah…go load up a bat with pine tar.
One aspect we have not covered here. I think “offense” is a debate tactic played incessantly in politics and often in blogs.
You and I are arguing. (I am, of course, right and you are, obviously, wrong). You say something that I am able to “be offended” at. By registering my offense at your obviously ungodly comment, I score debate points.
I think this happens all to often. I’ve probably done it. Attempts at humor can open the door to feigned or manufactured offense.
Sorry. I’m deeply troubled by your dad’s humor and yours too by extension (the offensive pine tar comment, notwithstanding).
Mom always liked me better.
If Jesus told jokes to make points I guess we should feel free to do the same….
I know right. Jesus was a trip. The Bible cracks me up sometimes.
I think maybe I should try and be offended by this post…
Nope, can’t do it.
Thanks for reminding me why I appreciate this place so much. I have been reading a lot of the posts here, even if I haven’t been commenting as much in the last few months.
I don’t think you can survive in the pastorate without a sense of humor. Joe McKeever has made part of a living recognizing that.
My sincere wish is that Calvinists would find a way to acquire some semblance of a sense of humor. The dour seriousness and drag-mouth attitude they display depresses me sometimes.
While I recognized Leake’s piece as a spoof, I’m thinking that it was too much inside humor, instantly recognizable to the SBCV illuminati but puzzling to the vast hordes of unwashed SBCV lurkers and non-commenters.
Miller’s sense of humor is the only thing that saves him, him being a Yankee fan and all.
SEC fans think the rest of college football is a big joke. Just ask CB.
You seriously made this about calvinism?
Most of us should read Elton Trueblood’s The Humor of Christ. Even if you don’t agree with all of it, you will at least get a glimpse that Jesus was not always grim and serious. He was no slapstick comedian, but there is humor in what God has done.
🙂 🙂 🙂 😉 🙂 🙂 🙂
By the way: where’s the “I used an emoticon so I owe you a $1” fund being received? I think it needs to have a $100 variant for those superbig emoticons…
Dave automatically deducts emoticon penalties from our paychecks as Voices contributors.
I guess that explains why I never got a check. 🙂 😛
Dave told me he would “settle your account” on the Israel trip.
I’m not sure what that means.
Dave, fabulous article! I want to come back with something witty and humorous as is fitting for the topic, but can’t think of anything at the moment.
But I have to say that part of having a good sense of humor is being able to laugh at oneself, something I’ve failed at on occasion. And being able to laugh at oneself comes from the same place in one’s heart as having the humility to know one’s need for Christ.
In the gospels, we have no instances of Jesus laughing. We should follow his example. It is unchristian to laugh, something pointed out frequently in the notes John Calvin added to his study Bible. Christians in general and Calvinists in particular should take special care never to laugh (with the one exception that we’re allowed to laugh at the ignorant things people say).
Interesting subject. I have a full manuscript for a book about humor for Christians but it hasn’t found a publishing home yet, “The Sense of Humor, How Humor Can Put You on the Fast Track to Healthier, Happier Living.”