Okay, I’m laying it all out there.
I have three boys, plus the hubs, in my house, so let’s just say that humor flies just as much as the burps and farts.
But taming the crazy boy humor has been a battle for sure. Full disclaimer, I grew up with one sister, so boy humor has taken me a long time to get used to.
But as we’ve talked about humor around our house, the question came up, does God have a sense of humor?
Simply we talked about how God created us in his own image (Genesis 1:27), so if we have a sense of humor, it was a gift from God himself. I’ve seen a statement floating around that says, “no one has a better sense of humor than the one who invented the concept of laughter”. Even throughout the Bible, you can see little glimpses of God’s humor.
Ballam and the Talking Donkey (Number 22)
Philistines and the statue of Dagon (1 Samuel 5:1-5)
The irony in the story of Jonah
The actions of the disciples from time to time.
Even Psalms and Proverbs, talks about laughter being medicine and how God is the giver of laughter. (Proverbs 17:22, Psalms126:1-2)
So, we can definitely say that God has a sense of humor.
But what is God’s sense of humor like?
“While God appreciates laughter and has gifted us with it, He does not condone laughter at the expense of another or laughter over sinful things. We are told to think on things that are pleasing to the Lord (Philippians 4:8) and to encourage others (Hebrews 3:13; 1 Thessalonians 5:11). Our speech should be edifying, and therefore our humor should be as well.” (Source)
Once at a meet and greet with the guys of the Skit Guys, I asked them (for my child that wants to be a comedian) where is the line you have to draw between what is humorous and what honors God.
They had such fun wisdom.
It’s important to honor God and know your audience. Because poop jokes always get a laugh (watch their Adam and Eve bit)
They also mentioned the importance of the message of that you’re trying to get across. For the Skit Guys, it’s God and the Gospel.
For my boys, I hope the goal is the same. But teaching this is a challenge.
So, teaching a biblical view of humor comes back to what is the goal of humor.
What I tell my boys is that the goals of humor are to encourage and build relationships. If your words or jokes don’t do those things then it is not funny.
As my oldest has entered middle school, we’ve had to help him see that if everyone isn’t laughing, then someone was hurt by what was said, and that IS NOT funny. This is a hill we’ve had to take a lot of ground on, because middle school interactions have things called jokes, but they are truly demeaning and rude. Ah, middle school, everyone wants to return to that age… said no one ever.
Humor is a gift from God, so its intent is to build relationships. In this parenting journey, we have to find the balance between the humor of the world and humor with the heart of God.
Truthfully this comes down to making sure the humor you revel in matches the mission of your home.