Joking

~Brandon James Scott Scholl

Okay, So I got a message from a reader, thank you by the way, about joking that they wanted me to think about. Basically what the question was is when is joking not okay. So, first we must define the term and then we’ll see what the bible says and we’ll go from there.

The definition of a joke from Merriam Webster is, “something said or done to provoke laughter.” Now, this could be things from knock-knock jokes to practical jokes such as a woopie cushion. However, these things that are said or done have to be funny in the first place to someone other than yourself. A good example was given to me recently: A student’s father called her school and said that her sister was in a bad car crash and he was coming to get here ASAP so they could go to the hospital. By the time he got to the school Nicole was crying her eyes out thinking the worst had happened and it turned out her dad had made the whole thing up. I think with this example this would be more considered a lie and it hurt someone in the process.

Now, what does the bible say about this kind of thing. You can either look at it from a strict, literal sense or a more relaxed and practical approach. First, the strict, literal sense would be explaining Ephesians 4:29 which says, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” Now, we can say that a joke can be construed as a good thing because you’re making someone laugh and making them happy. Or, you can look at this and say that a joke is not beneficial and that you shouldn’t say such things. Another scripture to look at along these lines is Proverbs 15:4 2 which says, “The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.” With the example explained ealier, the father was not beneficial or building up his daughter at all. Now, if you want to look at this in a basic way, you could see Proverbs 8:7 which says, “For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips.” This means that you should not lie. That means a joke that means you have to decieve is wrong.

Bottom line with all of this is I believe that a joke is a great thing. In fact, laughter is the best medicine. As long as the joke does not need you to lie or tear someone down then you have nothing to worry about. I will admit that with some jokes this is hard because I even joke with friends that I could be so much better looking than them or joke about them having a momentary lapse in judgement. That would have to be your judgement call. What do you think?