Can Christians Have Humor?

One of the older misgiven stereotypes of Christians is that they are old dried-up humorless sourpusses. This image of Christians is probably not as prevalent in the world today as it was during my youth, however, the idea is still somewhat alive even if not articulated in the same way it was a few decades ago.

Oftentimes when poking fun people are quick to judge or defend the sensitivities of others. And perhaps there is a fine line when creating humor at another’s expense. But that is a far cry from humor used in a lighthearted way to get a point across.

I believe it important to understand that all emotions experienced by humans are God given (some people may be puzzled by that and ask, ‘Even hate?’ To which I would have to answer, “Yes, even God hates.”). The idea that we just magically created the wealth of human emotions through some evolutionary process of climbing out of the primordial ooze is, in and of itself, humorous. God gave us a soul, our souls elicit emotions, and one of those emotions is humor.

This isn’t to say that, like everything else in this world, our emotions haven’t been tainted by sin. They have. However, they, like all aspects of creation, are a reflection of the many facets of a Holy and infinite God.

Consider Sarah, who when giving birth to her very firstborn son, found humor in the fact that her husband was 100 years old:

⁵ And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him. ⁶ And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me. ⁷ And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old age.

Genesis 21:5-7 KJV

Or Job, who likened his condition and position of trusting in God to a person being mocked of his neighbors and when he cries out to God, God’s answer is that the righteous are laughed to the point of scorn:

³ But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you: yea, who knoweth not such things as these? ⁴ I am as one mocked of his neighbour, who calleth upon God, and he answereth him: the just upright man is laughed to scorn. ⁵ He that is ready to slip with his feet is as a lamp despised in the thought of him that is at ease.

Job 12:3-5 KVJ

Laughter and humor is very much a part of our beings, even though at times truth in humor can sting.

And it is in that vein that I pray I may be allowed a little bit of leeway in my own feeble attempt at levity and humor today. Please understand that this is only parody in response to the state of the world today. Nothing more, and nothing less.

Today, the US Stock Exchange gave up considerable ground on the news of continued inflation within the country and fears of a Fed Prime Rate hike increase tomorrow (The Hill). And yet, President Biden seemed to insist that the Reduction in Inflation Act was working as promised (Biden touts inflation reduction law despite sobering report). This seemed just a little over the top humorous to me and resulted in me penning the following:

BEGIN SATIRE

Tuesday, 13 September 2022, Washington D.C.
Veep News Service, Inc.
K.D. Harris, Sr. Reporter

President Joe Biden addressed the Nation today praising the huge success of his Inflation Reduction Act (formerly “Build Back Better”) amid reports of soaring inflation numbers, the worst Wall Street sell off since 2020, and rising fears of a huge Fed hike in interest rates tomorrow.

“I did that!” Joe Biden proudly exclaimed while pointing to charts showing every major stock index plunging into the red.  “Our Inflation Reduction Act is working faster and better than any of the analysts could have possibly predicted.”, he went on to say.  “If only the Republicans hadn’t blocked our every move and allowed us to get this crucial legislation in place earlier, we could have seen these numbers a year ago.”

When asked about having a Misery Index higher than that of Jimmy Carter, President Biden began to eerily channel former VPOTUS Al Gore and stated that ‘Everything that ought to be UP is DOWN, while everything that ought to be DOWN is UP!’  In confusing and stumbling words the President brilliantly explained to this reporter that the Inflation Reduction Act was working exactly as designed and that in order to actually get to the great reset we needed to first utterly destroy hard working American’s pension plans, see thousands of seniors freeze to death amidst soaring fuel prices this winter, and of course bankrupt America by shifting defaulted student loans to the backs of Americans who paid their own way.  Triumphantly, President Biden stumbled off stage and immediately crashed his bicycle into an imaginary object while blaming President Trump and Ronald Regan for the soaring crime rate in the Country.

This reporter was in awe of the President’s stature and his ability to effectively communicate his message without any of the mean Tweets of the illegitimate President Donald J. Trump.  America has a bright future ahead as the Inflation Reduction Act really kicks in to raise the National Debt by over $5 Trillion, oddly erases imaginary Global Climate Change, and cures cancer by the time the President reaches his 104^th birthday.

AP Wire, 09232022-115600 GMT.

END SATIRE

Hopefully you can see the humor in that.