Knock-knock: Toward a Theology of Humor
What hath a “knock-knock” joke to do with Him Who stands at the door and knocks? That is, does God care about humor? Often times, humor finds itself on opposite ends of the spectrum, from a spiritual perspective. On one end it can be borderline sacrilege, making the things of God out to be trivial at best and blasphemous at worst. On the other end are the perennial “pastor jokes”—those that incite equal portions of groans and pity laughs. Thus, we find the practical value of thinking Christianly about humor.
How should a believer respond to jokes, satire, and the like? If our only two options are crassness or cheesiness, the offensive odor of each may drive us away. Instead, we should think with Christian clarity in order to discern the wrong and right ways that humor can function. For that reason, this essay will attempt to move us toward a theology of humor that arises out of Christian convictions and shows how Scripture points us towards ultimate joy. (Ideally, an essay on humor should be funny itself. Full disclosure: don’t count on it.)
What Does Scripture Say?
We begin with Scripture for two reasons: (1) It is our divinely-inspired guide in all faith and practice; and (2) it is a human book. The Holy Spirit inspired mere men to record His verbal revelation. Therefore, while the words are God’s, Scripture speaks deeply of and to the human experience.
When it comes to joking, Scripture speaks more subtly and occasionally than comprehensively. Paul says in Ephesians 5:4, “Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking.” Ecclesiastes 3:4 says that there is indeed a time to laugh, no matter what your parents told you growing up. There’s also mention of one in Proverbs 26:18-19 who is throwing firebrands and arrows and trying to pass it off as a joke—a negative example to be sure. Even Jesus used humor. Nicknaming some loud mouth youngsters as the “sons of thunder” is as good of a joke as any. Scripture, more often than we realize, capitalizes on the use of humor, often driving home eternal truths. However, more specific statements on the use of humor per se are not as obvious. Yet surely with all the one-liners with which pastors are equipped, there must be some type of biblical command. Ironically, there is not.
The Bible does have something important to say about our motivations behind our use of humor. Ephesians 4:29 reminds us that everything that comes from our mouths (including that which is funny) should have as its sole goal the building up of those who hear. We must analyze whether the way we make people laugh is actually tearing them down or building them up. The Scriptures only allow for the latter. Though it is more challenging, this analysis must also be done on an individual basis, as all persons have different backgrounds and present circumstances that will have a bearing on how a given joke will affect them. That is, what could build one person up could potentially tear another down.
In conclusion, God’s Word doesn’t simply question our motives concerning humor, but it calls us to build one another up with it. And even where our humor isn’t tearing others down, it still may lack biblical legitimacy for other reasons.
Why Did Humor Cross the Road?
Sometimes our jokes can cross the line (or, might we say, “the road”) without our even realizing it. Often it has nothing to do with crudeness, and everything to do with triviality.
As with every other topic under the sun, C.S. Lewis has great insight here (seriously, he has quotes about everything). For instance, in The Screwtape Letters, the senior demon Screwtape articulates to his nephew Wormwood that treating important topics with flippancy is actually very helpful to the Devil’s agenda. He explains,
But flippancy is the best of all. In the first place it is very economical. Only a clever human can make a real Joke about virtue, or indeed about anything else; any of them can be trained to talk as if virtue were funny. Among flippant people the Joke is always assumed to have been made. No one actually makes it; but every serious subject is discussed in a manner which implies that they have already found a ridiculous side to it. If prolonged, the habit of Flippancy builds up around a man the finest armour plating against the Enemy that I know, and it is quite free from the dangers inherent in the other sources of laughter. It is a thousand miles away from joy; it deadens, instead of sharpening, the intellect; and it excites no affection between those who practise it [1].
As with all sin, flippancy takes joking and turns it inside out. It convinces us that we’re clever and begins to gain a foothold within our lives. Before we know it, we’ve reduced weighty things into nothing but a punch line. Often times, we continue this without realizing we’ve slid down the slippery slope.
It is here where the key dichotomy is made. It is exactly when we are flippant on important topics that we are pulled away from joy rather than led to it. When we trivialize the things of God, we may laugh, but joy often leaves with the chuckles. If it is true that flippancy diminishes joy, we must calibrate our humor around the source of unlimited joy. To do that, we must understand how humor leads to joy, and where this joy really comes from.
What Happens When You Cross Joy With Humor?
There’s a type of laughter that the Devil loves, and there is also a type that he hates. The infamous Screwtape writes,
[S]omething like it occurs in Heaven – a meaningless acceleration in the rhythm of celestial experience, quite opaque to us. Laughter of this kind does us no good and should always be discouraged. Besides, the phenomenon is of itself disgusting and a direct insult to the realism, dignity and austerity of Hell [2].
Simply put, there is a type of laughter and joy that will only be found in heaven.
The reason every human being loves humor is because it is a glimpse of joy. While it rarely lasts long, a fit of laughter, a deep chuckle, or even a passing smirk brings with it a small window of joy. But with all things, the glimpse is not the glory itself. We have, as Lewis says, a sehnsucht [3] inside of us. We have deep longings for something beyond this world. For many of us, this is never clearer than when we have a good laugh with friends. We smile and grin, enjoying every minute of fun—but it never lasts. The funniness is never forever. Thus, we’re left with a longing.
G.K. Chesterton wrote, “A good joke is the closest thing we have to divine revelation.” While Chesterton may be using hyperbole here to illustrate his point, a good joke does point us in the right direction. When we allow comedy to direct us to our ultimate joy, we begin to see its purpose. God has given us common grace in jokes. As with everything in creation, God has created it for us to enjoy. And as with everything in creation, it has been tainted by sin. As we’ve investigated above, humor may be used for good or for ill. Especially for the believer, it must be used for good. Not only has God created us for joy, but also with gifts—such as the gift of language—with which we praise God Himself. Thus, when we laugh at a clever remark or a punch line that is truthful and not inappropriate, we do so with the knowledge that it is a gift from God.
We all long for joy when it comes to eternity. Martin Luther reportedly said, “If you’re not allowed to laugh in heaven, I don’t want to go there.” Luckily, for Luther the true source of joy, and thus our reason for laughter, is the King of Heaven. In the end, we will not have to choose, for joy flows from the joy-giver. At the end of the day, and even at the end of our lives, we look to the one who is joy incarnate. Thankfully, as people found in Christ, we no longer have to settle for glimpses of this joy, for we have the very person. Therefore, next time you crack a joke, perfect a punch line or make someone giggle, remember the happiness experienced points to someone greater.
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[1] C. S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters (New York: HarperCollins, 1942), 56.
[2] Ibid., 53-54
[3] Sehnsucht is a German noun that is often translated as meaning “yearning” or “longing”. However, we do not have a perfect English equivalent because sehnsucht implies deep emotional state with this longing. This became a very popular theme in many of C. S. Lewis’ writings.
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