Humor is good for your humility
The Bible encourages us to laugh, and not to take ourselves too seriously
Jeff Allen, one of our favorite Christian comedians. Source: jeffallencomedy.com. (I would love to be a stand-up comedian, but I don’t have the guts to stand up.)
At noon Elijah began to tease them. “Shout louder!” he said. “I’m sure Baal is a god! Perhaps he has too much to think about. Or maybe he has gone to the toilet. Or perhaps he’s away on a trip. Maybe he’s sleeping. You might have to wake him up.” —1 Kings 18:27, New International Reader’s Version
We live in a dark world, and taking it too seriously can make it seem even darker—and make ourselves miserable. The Bible authorizes us to be humorous, even in dark times.
First Kings 18 relates the prophet Elijah’s confrontation of 450 prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel. He challenged the false prophets to set up a bull for sacrifice and to call on their god to miraculously send down fire. Amazingly, they accepted the challenge and howled to Baal for hours.
When Elijah began taunting the prophets of Baal, his satire was vivid. One of the Hebrew phrases is obscure, but many interpreters, like the translation quoted above, believe he was wondering if perhaps Baal was busy relieving himself. It’s one of the more humorous lines in the Bible, gracing a story that would end with the slaughter of the false prophets.
The apostle Paul also had some capacity for humor. When King Agrippa wondered if Paul was trying to convert him to Christianity, Paul replied, “I pray that you and everyone here will become what I am—except for these chains” (Acts 26:29, paraphrased).
Humor does more than make people laugh. It demonstrates that our victorious spirit will not be vanquished by the woes of this world. It exudes the freedom and joy of the coming kingdom. It presents us as people who take God very seriously but do not take ourselves too seriously.
Because humor can be unintentionally offensive, I’ve found that the safest kind of humor is self-deprecating—i.e., making fun of myself.
Two weeks ago, I recalled James Dobson’s humbling experience of learning that his hard-earned college tennis trophy was going into the school’s dumpster. I have a similar story, but more self-deprecating. In 1987, I published The Health and Wealth Gospel. I thought I was on my way to great importance, having authored a book for a major Christian publisher at age 26. I gave free copies to all the people who had critiqued my early drafts, including a pastor friend in Pittsburgh.
About 20 years later, my son was on a Bible quizzing team at this pastor’s church. They had a practice session in the church basement. I took him down there. I saw that one of the tables was wobbly. To keep it from wobbling, someone had placed my book under one of the table legs.
That’s how God humbles you if you take your abilities too seriously. Have a great weekend!