Articles
Does God have a Sense of Humor?
The Sunday School teacher was describing how Lot’s wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt, when little Jason interrupted, “My Mommy looked back once while she was driving and she turned into a telephone pole!”
From time to time the question is asked: “Does God have a sense of humor?” The Bible will shed a light on this question (pun intended).
In Proverbs 17:22 the wiseman said, “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.” This wisdom comes from God Himself for the benefit of mankind (who is made in the image of God—Gen. 1:26). Luke 6:21b says, “Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.” It is God who provided man with the ability to laugh.
Psalm 2 pictures the rulers of the earth plotting and taking counsel together against the Lord and against His anointed [king]. Picture that scene in your mind; the created beings holding a “brain trust” conference about how they might outwit the One who created their brains. Verse 4 says, “He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The LORD shall hold them in derision.” God thought their attempt to combine their wisdom (?) to achieve such an unattainable goal a reason for Him to laugh. “Idiocracy” best describes this conference.
An event that always tickles my funny bone is the “vagabond Jews” attempting to cast out a demon in the name of Paul and the Lord Jesus in Acts 19:13-17. A “vagabond” was one who strolled. We might think of Gypsies as a similar group. They thought they could cast out some evil spirits from a certain man. But the evil spirits responded, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” Imagine you were watching from a window as this happened. And all of a sudden these “vagabond Jews” came running out the door naked as a jaybird, fleeing from the man with the evil spirits. I believe that one reason that God included this event in His holy writ to man was to give me a laugh when I needed it. This is truly a blessing from God.
1st man: If Goliath would come back to life today, would you like to tell him the joke about David and Goliath? 2nd man: Naw, he already fell for it once.
When I picture that 9½ foot tall warrior, in full armor, seasoned and scarred; and then envision that young, short, good looking kid standing before him; and that giant, in a deep, thunderous voice cursing David by his gods, and David’s brother’s hiding behind him muttering insults at their insolent brother, and the entire army of Israel cowering behind rocks, I can’t help but think that God is having a most satisfying laugh at the apparent absurdity of this scene, knowing that the “unexpected twist” is about to unfold surprising everyone except Him and David. When Goliath (in slow motion) impacts the ground like a giant redwood tree, I picture the angels intently watching this and saying, “Cha-ching,” as a thunderous cheer goes up.
[I do not mean to make light of God or the Bible. You have heard, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” Well, I wholeheartedly believe that a good laugh a day helps to keep the psychiatrist away. God’s prescription: “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.”]
