In 1964, a man named Norm Cousins went to a doctor in great agony and was told he had an incurable disease and was given three months to live. He decided he would spend those months laughing. He watched a steady diet of Marx brothers movies, Three Stooges, and Candid Camera. This constant barrage of humor led to his healing, and he lived until 1990, when he died at the age of 75. He initiated a study on humor, and this led to an outbreak of humor scholars and studies that are still increasing today.
Humor, then, has been shown to confirm Proverbs 17:22 and the effects of a merry heart versus a broken spirit: “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones” (CSB). Humor has a proven effect on our emotions in a very positive manner, thus aiding mental health, relaxing our muscles, reducing stress hormones, enhancing immune systems, aiding in pain reduction, and increasing blood supply to your organs. Scholars are still exploring the unique depth of benefits humor has in our lives.
Therefore, the question for those of us in ministry is not, “Can humor be beneficial?” Of course it can; the research proves this. Rather, we must ask, “Does humor detract from the seriousness of Scripture?”
Some, over time, have made an argument against ever using humor in the teaching or preaching of Scripture. John Chrysostom and Jonathan Edwards are two that certainly argue this point. Chrysostom, in his homilies on Hebrews, has little patience for laughter and and jesting within the church:
Our affairs, both our business and our politeness, are turned into laughing; there is nothing steady, nothing grave […] For the Church has been filled with laughter. Whatever clever thing one may say, immediately there is laughter among those present: and the marvelous thing is that many do not leave off laughing even during the very time of the prayer. Everywhere the devil leads the dance, he has entered into all, is master of all. Christ is dishonored, is thrust aside.
Edwards, for his part, commits explicitly in his Resolutions “never to speak anything that is ridiculous, sportive, or matter of laughter on the Lord’s Day.”
However, far more have argued for a careful use of humor, and that is surely the best way to think of this issue. Humor is, after all, a good gift created and given by God, and as Paul reminds us in 1 Timothy 4:4-5, “Everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, since it is sanctified by the word of God and by prayer.”
More importantly, though, the question stands on whether there is humor in the Bible. If so, that would certainly be a legitimization of its usage in preaching and teaching.
Humor is seen across the pages of Scripture. In Judges 15:4-5, we have the story of Samson setting the fields of the Philistines on fire with torches tied to the tails of foxes. Any young Jewish child when he first heard that story would burst forth in deep laughter. The mental image is practically cartoonish! Moreover, this same strain of comedy runs throughout the narratives of the Bible. We see this in the irony of Esther 6, when Haman unknowingly advises the king to honor Mordecai, his nemesis. We see it again in 2 Kings 6, when the Syrian army is struck blind, captured, fed a sumptuous feast, and sent packing back to their master. And we see it once again in the sarcasm of Elijah in 1 Kings 18:21-40: “Shout loudly, for he’s a god! Maybe he’s thinking it over; maybe he has wandered away; or maybe he’s on the road. Perhaps he’s sleeping and will wake up!”
Perhaps the most pertinent use of sarcastic humor was from Jesus himself, when he called the temperamental brothers James and John the “Sons of Thunder” in Mark 3:17. It was sarcastic humor that surely all the other apostles laughed at, but it also had a significant impact on John, as he is the only disciple of whom it is said that Jesus loved. This well-intended sarcasm thus altered his personal walk with Jesus. Jesus lovingly (and jokingly) ribbed him about his ill temper, and over time that same irritable man became characterized, not by anger, but by love.
Since humor is in the Bible, then most assuredly it is ok for us to use in our ministries. It is helpful in so many ways. For example, President George W. Bush used it when speaking to a hostile crowd at a Southern Methodist University (SMU) graduation. He complimented the A and B students on their accomplishments, and then told the C students that they, too, could one day be president of the United States. This self-deprecation won the day as it negated the hostility in the crowd.
There are times in sermons when humor needs to be used due to the tension in the room over the subject. As a pastor, when speaking to women about submission, I always used humor to mitigate our culture’s disdain for that concept.
Humorous deprecation can be used to show the absurdity of certain ideas and philosophies, as well as bad theology, but must never be used to attack an individual. Nevertheless, as we are preaching to a culture that does not feel good about the church as an institution, maybe humor could help win over an antagonistic crowd.
There are numerous ways to use humor, which the Bible certainly demonstrates, and as the Bible does not use it on every page, so should we be judicious in that use.
