Mock Humor Isn't the Real Thing
Theme of the Week: Humor, Happiness, and Joy
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
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Key Bible Verse:The Lord mocks the mockers, but is gracious to the humble (Proverbs 3:34). Bonus Reading: 2 Kings 2:23-24
Which topics aren't appropriate to joke about? A good starting point is to rule out all forms of mocking. Avoid mocking sacred things because jokes that belittle faith or poke fun at God are irreverent and obviously wrong. Avoid mocking persons because to mock a fellow human being indirectly insults God, since we all bear God's image. Moreover, mockery is painful to the person mocked. It's a form of contempt and is wrong, no matter how many laughs one might elicit.
This doesn't rule out teasing that's done in good fun and doesn't hurt feelings or belittle a person. Teasing might be a nuisance to the person teased, but it's not humiliating. Teasing is only appropriate between persons who know each other well. Attempt to tease a stranger and you'll almost certainly come off as a mocker. This explains why ethnic jokes (in addition to making unfair stereotypes) tend to be cruel. When you poke fun at a whole race of people, it can't possibly be considered teasing because most people in that group—in any ethnic group, including your own—are strangers to you. Necessarily, then, ethnic jokes are a form of mockery and are rarely appropriate.
—James Spiegel inHow to Be Good in a World Gone Bad
My Response:To avoid crossing a line from teasing to mockery, I need to …
Thought to Apply:One filled with joy preaches without preaching.—Mother Teresa (missionary to Kolkata
Adapted fromHow to Be Good in a World Gone Bad(Kregel, 2004))by permission.
Copyright © 2009 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.
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