God's Sense of Humor

The Bible talks about God laughing at the plans of the wicked. I wonder what his laughter sounds like! I also wonder what other things make him laugh...

Uncle Proboscis Vanover

When I was little, my mom told me you can see that God has a sense of humor because of some of the strange-looking animals he created. She used the platypus as an example, but I was reminded of this when I recently saw a closeup of a proboscis monkey in the opening shots of Life of Pi. I didn't know what a proboscis monkey was at the time, but I thought it was funny - it looks like it could be one of my relatives! - so I had to take a picture with my phone!

When I showed the image to friends in Lexington last weekend, I discovered I am NOT smarter than a kindergartener! My friends' son knew all about proboscis monkeys from something he had seen on TV!

"He who sits in the heavens laughs..."

- Psalm 2:4a

Besides funny-looking animals, another of my favorite examples of God's sense of humor is when Bill Cosby talks about having kids in his special, Bill Cosby, Himself.

"My wife and I were intellectuals...before we had children. We were very, very bright people. My wife graduated from the University of Maryland - Child Psychology major with a B+ average, which means that if you ask her a question about a child's behavior, she will give you at least an 85 answer - I, from Temple University - Physical Education major with Child Psychology minor, which means if you ask me a question about a child's behavior, I will tell you to tell the child to take a lap! Needless to say, we felt qualified to handle having children, and we planned to have children. We sat in the back seat of a car...and discussed it: 'Children - we want to have children and bring them up!' And we spoke to God about the children, and we were afraid to ask God for specific things. We felt that it might be too much. We said to God, 'Please, give us a healthy child,' and we left it at that...not knowing that God is a generous God, but also has a sense of humor, and that if you leave that much open for God, some wonderful jokes are going to come about!"

Then Cosby goes on to explain how all children have brain damage!

"But you laugh at them, O Lord..."

- Psalm 59:8a 

So this week, they're having a "Share-a-thon" at Walk FM (another radio station in the same building as the one where I work), and today they ordered way too much pizza for their volunteers' lunch. They offered me some, and even offered to let me take some home tonight, since Amber hasn't been feeling well lately. Well, the pizza had already started turning cold before I got it, and this got me thinking about how re-heated pizza just never tastes as good as when it's fresh...

Usually, Amber just nukes it in the microwave, but I hate that because the crust gets all chewy... I've suggested heating it up in the oven, but she complains that it takes too long... I debated about what to do, but finally shrugged it off. "Oh well, I'll figure it out later," I said, and I decided to move on...

The next thing on my agenda for the day was to start preparing for this week's Wednesday night Bible study at church (while I waited for some files to import on the computer at work). This week, we're in Proverbs 17, so I opened my Bible to the right place and began reading at Verse 1, and suddenly, in my head, I heard God laughing at me...!

"Better a dry crust eaten in peace

than a house filled with feasting - and conflict!"

- Proverbs 17:1 (NLT)

I just had to laugh with God over that! OK, Lord! I give up!

You know, some Christians take everything so seriously, but our God is a God of joy! Loosen up! Laugh with God a little! It's good for you! (Don't believe me? Check this out: Laughter is the Best Medicine: The Health Benefits of Humor and Laughter)

I am blessed because God has a sense of humor, and he delights in his people! (Zephaniah 3:17)

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice!"

- Philippians 4:4