Observations From Hadleyville: DOES GOD HAVE A SENSE OF HUMOR?

Monday, January 6, 2014

DOES GOD HAVE A SENSE OF HUMOR?

Does God have a sense of humor? I think so. After all, we are created in his image and likeness. Since God is Spirit, image and likeness refer to personality and abilities. Humor is as much a part of the human condition as altruism or creativity.

There are jokes in the Bible too. Most people miss them because they think religious things must be stuffy and dull. When Jesus talked about people gagging at a gnat but swallowing a camel, that was a joke not a spiritual description. My favorite joke in the Bible is found in Genesis 11, concerning the Tower of Babel. The people boldly declare, "let us build a tower who's top reaches into the heavens." God's response? "Let's go DOWN and see this thing."

I received a lesson in God's sense of humor when I was a young pastor. A woman came to church for counsel. She was distressed because her mother was sleeping with her husband. Today, this is a depressingly common occurrence, but thirty years ago in a small town it was scandal. I counseled the woman for months. I even talked to the husband and mother to no avail.

One day I was shopping at the grocery store. Mindlessly whistling a tune I pushed my cart down the aisles. As I perused the deli counter I felt eyes on me. Looking up, I found the wayward mother and husband starring daggers at me. I gave them a "whatever" look and moved on. I purchased my groceries and moved to the car. Standing over the open trunk I suddenly froze, a goofy grin on my face. I realized what I had been whistling in the store; Simon and Garfunkles "Mrs. Robinson."

Tell me God doesn't have a sense of humor.

1 comment:

Joe B. said...: I agree that God does indeed have a sense of humor.; February 1, 2014 at 12:16 AM

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WORDS OF WISDOM FOR WRITERS

The secret of becoming a writer is that you have to write. You have to write a lot. You also have to finish what you write, even though no one wants it yet. If you don't learn to finish your work, no one will ever want to see it. The biggest mistake new writers make is carrying around copies of unfinished work to inflict on their friends.

I am sure it has been done with less, but you should be prepared to write and throw away a million words of finished material. By finished, I mean completed, done, ready to submit, and written as well as you know how at the time you wrote it.
-Jerry Pournelle

WHAT'S THIS HADLEYVILLE THING?

Those of you familiar with Mark Twain’s works might recognize my blog title. As Samuel Clemons grew older, he became increasingly disillusioned with humanity. Towards the end he began referring to the Damned Human Race; employing the secular and religious epithet at one stroke.

I find I’ve not reached that level of despair myself. I still believe in redemption and I still see signs of nobility even among we fallen, damned creatures. So, I could not bring myself to call this blog “On the Damned Human Race.” I do however, resonate with another of Clemmons stories; “The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg.” And viola, there you have it. “Observations From Hadleyville.”