The Darkside of Humor

Read: Luke 16:14

"Now the Pharisees , who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and were scoffing at Him." Luke 16:14

Examine:

In the verses previous to this one Jesus teaches on money. He rips through the notion that material abundance is a sign of spiritual favor and blessing from God. The Pharisees were lovers of money and so they scoffed at a poor man teaching rich men how to leverage their money for God's kingdom.

Apply:

There is inside of me a deep since of mockery that enjoys finding humor in normal things. My sense of humor is "slightly" sarcastic. I can generally find something to make light of or laugh about in just about any situation. This is a gift and I have seen God use it in many ways that are healthy and productive. At the same time, this gift can be misused.

I use my sense of humor to diffusion a situations instead of allowing the pressure to reveal truth. I use my humor to cover or soften a jabs that I throw at others. Most dangerously, my sense of humor can turn into scoffing when someone speaks on a topic that reaches a little to close to my comfort zone or a sinful part of my flesh.

In moments when I choose to scoff at something I need to learn to slow down, back away, and examine what is taking place. I would not scoff at it if there were no truth in it. I would not be using my humor as a defensive mechanism if I were not threatened by what was taking place. If I am scoffing, I really need to pay attention because God is likely trying to teach me something.

Pray:

There are days when my ability to laugh at things and make light of pain in my life are the only things that keep me going. I am grateful for the joy of laughter. Life would be gray and misery would be my only company if You did not design and instill inside of me humor. Laughter is good for the soul and I really appreciate that You enjoy a joyful heart.

Just like any gift, there is a dark side to humor. I ask that You lead me in wisdom so that I am able to avoid scoffing at things instead of learning from them. Help me to not use my humor as a mask for my own bad behavior.