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What are you Laughing at?

Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. James 4:9-10

Wait a minute, is God opposed to laughter? Is it more godly to have a look on your face that would freeze water?

I don't think so...

James is referring to people who have a backwards view of humor. Christians who make the temporary pleasure of sin the source of their happiness, and get 'bummed out' when they think of spiritual things. Their love of the Lord stops cold when it makes demands on their 'pet sins'. So God is essentially saying: "Look, you need to change your attitude, because sin isn't funny- it cost the life of my Son".

Take a look at the examples below, you might catch a better glimpse of what James is trying to communicate.

  • Funny how we set our clocks to arise at 6:00 am or 7:00 am to be at school by 8:00, yet when Sunday comes we can't get to church by 11:00 am to praise the One who gave us minds to learn!
  • Funny how we call God our Father and Jesus our brother, but find it hard to introduce them to our family.
  • Funny how small "our" sins seem, but how big "their" sins are.
  • Funny how we demand justice for others, but expect mercy from God.
  • Funny how much difficult it is to learn the gospel well enough to tell others, but how easy it is understand and explain the latest gossip about someone else.
  • Funny how we can't think of anything to say when we pray, but don't have any difficulty thinking of things to talk about to a friend.
  • Funny how we are so quick to take directions from a total stranger when we are lost, but are hesitant to take God's direction for our lives.
  • Funny how so many churchgoers sing "Standing on the Promises", but all they do is sit on the premises.
  • Funny how people want God to answer their prayers, but refuse to listen to His counsel.
  • Funny how we sing about our future in heaven, but live only for today on earth.
  • Funny how people think they are going to Heaven, but don't think there is a Hell.
  • Funny how it is okay to blame God for evil and suffering in the world, but it is not necessary to thank Him for what is good and pleasant.
  • Funny how when something goes wrong, we cry, "Lord, why me?", but when something goes right, we think, "Hey, it must be me!"
  • Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world is going to hell.
  • Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says.
  • Funny how everyone wants to go to heaven provided they do not have to believe, think, say, or do anything the Bible says.
    Funny how people can say, "I believe in God", but still follow Satan who also "believes" in God.
  • Funny how you can send a thousand 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing.
  • Funny how the lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene pass freely through cyber space, but the public discussion of Jesus is suppressed in the school and workplace.
  • Funny how someone can be so fired up for Christ on Sunday, but be an invisible Christian the rest of the week.

Are you laughing?

Funny how I can be more worried about what other people think of me than what God thinks of me.

Are you thinking?

Oh wait...maybe all this isn't so "funny" after all.

(Author Unknown)

Questions:

  1. Are there 'laughter' areas of your life that need to be changed to 'mourning'?
  2. Which three examples from the above list apply directly to you?
  3. What has following Christ cost you?