The Air I Breathe

There's a Scripture passage about rejoicing in the Lord, found in Psalm 126:
(1b) When the Lord brought back the captivity of Zion, We were like those who dream.
2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter, And our tongue with singing. Then they said among the nations, "The Lord has done great things for them."
3 The Lord has done great things for us, And we are glad.

We can rejoice in Him because of the great things He has done...and that joy in our hearts can produce laughter.   Humor, laughter, joyfulness - there are all components that the Lord offers to us that can help when we are feeling disappointed or brokenhearted.  God wants us to take the issues of life seriously and to think critically and Biblically about our approach to various topics.  But, I also think that He has provided laughter as a gift and desires for us to have, as Proverbs 17 says, merry hearts.

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In Proverbs 17, we can read:
22 A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones.

It was a very serious show yesterday on The Meeting House.

We are living in challenging times, and it's important that Christians who are rooted in a Biblical worldview perspective develop a Biblical way forward.   Applying truth to difficult issues: helping hurting families, the sanctity of life, defending our faith - those were all on yesterday's agenda.

Today, I want to insert a little levity.   Now, when you get into the realm of humor and satire, you might find some material that won't set really well with you, but at least it can make you think...a little.

So, enjoy today's headline from The Babylon Bee: "'What Has God Ever Done For Me?’ Asks Man Breathing Air."  The story goes like this:

Sources confirmed Tuesday that local freethinker Jared Olson called into question the “absurd” idea that God had ever done anything for him, all while inhaling oxygen and exhaling carbon dioxide in a complex process well beyond his mind’s capability of understanding in its entirety.

“The idea of ‘god’ is really just holding us back,” Olson opined, addressing the other members of the philosophy club at Edmonds Community College, as the membrane across his larynx vibrated to modulate the flow of air from his lungs, making his speech audible to the people listening, whose intricate ear structures then instantly transformed the invisible sound waves into abstract thought in their brain’s nervous tissue.

Olson went on to pursue the line of reasoning even further, claiming that mankind has science, medicine, and mathematics to thank for its continued existence rather than any sort of all-powerful creator, for which there is “absolutely no evidence.” According to eyewitnesses, he made these claims as the surface his feet rested on continued to spin around the earth’s core without any input from him, all while the only known habitable planet on which he stood rocketed around the center of the galaxy in perfect formation at the unfathomable rate of 490,000 miles per hour.

I mentioned another Bee story earlier this week about a worship leader who was "tragically caught in an infinite loop between the bridge and chorus of Chris Tomlin’s hit worship song How Great Is Our God."

The story "quoted" one of the musicians, who told reporters, “This is our third worship leader who’s been sucked into a PCBV (Perpetual Chorus-Bridge Vortex) in the past year.”

And, there is the story of a small group that was characterized by "awkward silence:"

City Hill Redeemer Church’s newest weeknight small group held the kickoff session of its new in-depth study of awkward silences Monday. The newly-formed group, every member of which appears to be shy and hesitant to answer questions or vocalize prayers, is reportedly looking forward to a six-week study of long, uncomfortable pauses.

The inaugural class focused on Colossians Chapter 1, which, after reportedly asking if anyone would like to read it and being greeted by a lengthy period of suffocating quiet, was read aloud by group leader and Associate Pastor Stan Parker.

Now, I am not endorsing all of the content of the website.  I appreciate the concept, but I do think that it could be regarded as too strong in criticizing, even in fun, Christian leaders and personalities with whom the editors disagree.  That's the danger in humor - you never want to denigrate someone in a manner that is harsh or harmful.   Satire is definitely a skill that I do not possess, nor want to possess.

But, while on the topic of Christian satire, I do think we can address the importance of humor.  The Bible speaks of possessing a merry heart.  Jesus encouraged His disciples to "be of good cheer."

We can certainly take ourselves too seriously sometimes, and a little levity can be good for us. But, be reminded that humor can be a tool to edify, but it can also be a tool to tear down, so we have to be careful in the way that we use it.   And, sometimes we get stuck in our spiritual ruts and need to take another look and perhaps see how absolutely absurd we look in some of our so-called religious practice.  God can use a well-intentioned, humorous perspective and use it to correct our course.   When we are burdened, laughter can be powerful in lifting our spirits.