Center for Biblical Theology and Eschatology
The Seriousness of Joking
by Joshua Jenkins
| "Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks." -Ephesians 5:4 |
How a person talks, what a person laughs at, and how a person jokes is a good indicator of where their heart is. I love good humor, and I love to laugh. But Christians must be aware of how serious God takes our jokes. Scripture commands us to take no part in foolish talk or crude joking. This is not optional. And it is not a joke. Paul isn’t kidding when he writes this to the Church at Ephesus. Many Christians are far too much like the world when it comes to the things we laugh about and the way that we talk. Anytime that I fall into participating in such talk, I feel dirty for what I’ve done. This isn’t self-guilt or legalism, it is the conviction of the Holy Spirit. When we feel this way, or when another Christian confronts us in this, we must not pass off the work of the Spirit as legalism. We are called to a different standard than the things that can pass for a PG-13 movie. Why is it that Paul takes our language and our joking so seriously? It is because inappropriate speech is out of place among Christians – it doesn’t belong there. There are four basic reasons I will give in this post.
- It’s Not Who We Are
The first several chapters of Ephesians leading up to this is spent describing the identity of Christians – who we are in Christ because of what Jesus has done for us to unite us with him. After Paul goes to lengths to explain the gospel to us, he then begins to describe how a person who is united with Christ lives. He describes the characteristics of a Christian and gives us commands on how we are to act. Because the identity of a Christian is firmly grounded in our union with Christ, it is out of character to enjoy crude humor. It’s simply not who we are. When we participate in dirty joking or filthy speech it is because we have forgotten that we’ve been cleansed and washed clean by the blood of Jesus.
- Christ Died For It
It is nothing short of sin when we laugh at crude joking on T.V. or let our mouths run into foolish talk. Sin is the very thing for which Christ suffered and died for. Many have said this before, but how can we, as Christians, laugh at the very things that Christ bled for? When we make or laugh at a dirty joke that is exactly what we are doing. Let it not be so. Let us not make light of things that God does not make light of. Let us not giggle at the very things that separate us from God. It was not a laughing matter when Jesus sweat drops of blood in the garden.
- It Reveals Our hearts
My wife often reminds me that the jokes we make always have a little bit of truth in them (and sometimes a lot of truth). I believe that satire is a very good and powerful form of humor. But we must be careful with how we make jokes about others. It often reveals the truth that we think of them. Again, inherently it isn’t wrong to joke and laugh with each other about each other. But we must watch ourselves closely that we don’t use sarcasm as a way to put others down or use it as a way to slam others with the guise of “I’m just joking.” Let us be tasteful with our joking.
- Instead, Thanksgiving
After Paul says that filthiness, foolish talk, and crude joking are out of place among Christians, he then says instead of those things, there should be thanksgiving among us. Paul isn’t saying we mustn’t ever laugh or have fun. He isn’t saying we must always be solemn. He is saying be happy, joyful, and thankful in Christ. Paul is replacing dirty humor with deep, Christ-centered joy and thankfulness. The problem with filthiness, foolish talk, and crude joking is that we cannot simultaneously be that and full of thankfulness to God. They do not coexist. It is for our good and deep-rooted joy that we are to put off inappropriate speech and instead, walk in thankfulness.
| Joshua Jenkins is a pastor and preacher with Hope Baptist Church in Springfield, Missouri. He is a cohost of The Absolute Unit Podcast on The Majesty's Men and he posts his sermons and other writing at his HNR.GD Network site: themajestysmen.com/joshuajenkins/ |