TEXT: James 1:26

SUBJECT: Baxter on the Tongue #5

Tonight, with the Lord's blessing, we'll continue our study of Richard Baxter on the Tongue.

Thus far, we've looked at his big ideas on how to control your speech. And at a couple of specific problems: Taking the Lord's Name in vain and lying.

The next main subject is "idle talk or babbling". I planned to take up this one tonight, until I spotted a sub-topic of great interest to me. And that is joking or telling funny stories or other ways of making people laugh at what you say.

What do you suppose Baxter thought of amusing talk? He was a Puritan, of course, and these people were famous for being sourpusses. He must have thought jokes were a waste of time, at least, and maybe a sin. Is that true? No it isn't. In fact, he criticized people for saying that.

He goes on from these verses to remind us of a couple who were both pious--a whole lot of fun!

He doesn't recall the example of our Lord Jesus. Though I think he should have. He was not a comedian, of course, or a clown. But, at times, He said funny things. The scribes, for example, were very fussy about little things, but missed the big things entirely. Of them, He said,

Do you get the joke? A man goes into a restaurant and orders a salad. The waiter brings it out, but the man is very offended. "Waiter, there's a hair in my salad!" The waiter takes it back and returns with another--but this one's got a gorilla sleeping on the plate. "Ah--says the happy customer--"That's more like it!" He's grossed out by a single hair, but he doesn't notice a hairy gorilla. Get it? It's a joke. It's more than a joke, I know. But it's still a joke. If Jesus Christ told jokes, there's nothing wrong with joking.

Sarah once said, "God has made me laugh".

What's a joke for? What's the use of a funny story? Anyone who has a sense of humor knows perfectly well what they're for. But some people don't. And so, Baxter tells them what humor is for.

Fun talk, in other words, will make your body healthier and your spirit holier.

Baxter, then is for joking. But not all joking. How do you make humor a blessing? And not a curse? Here's how:

Some jokes are downright obscene; others aren't that bad, but are still smutty. They may be funny. But they're not good, for instead of making a your heart merrier, they just leave it dirtier. Laughing at dirty jokes has a way of making fornication, adultery, and so on, less serious, and therefore, easier to fall into.

There's so much humor in the world! Why sink into the gutter looking for it?

A joke is like a white shirt. If you have to ask, "Is it clean?" you can be sure it isn't.

The Second Commandment says, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself". Do you want people laughing their heads off at your expense? If not, don't do it to them. Don't let your humor become cruel or condescending.

Everyone has "sore points" (or, things we don't like to talk about). Be sensitive to them. If a man's embarrassed about being bald, don't rub his head for luck.

It doesn't take long to find out who's sensitive to what. Be careful; jokes hurt people.

Many verses support Baxter on this one. Ecclesiastes 3:1 says "There is a time to laugh and a time to mourn"; Proverbs 25:11 adds, "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in bowls of silver".

This is especially true of people who are heartbroken. Proverbs 25:20 has it, "Like one who takes away a garment in cold weather...is one who sings songs to a heavy heart".

I know a man who jokes at funerals. What he says is funny--incredibly funny--but not appropriate!

Others make every holy thing into a gag. Pastors start their sermons with a joke or two--or twenty! Believers quote the Bible in a humorous way. I know one man who even joked in his prayers!

It's good to be funny. At the right time.

This goes back to the previous point. If "There is a time to laugh", there is also a time to not laugh. Don't be such a comedian that you do nothing but joke. That's wasteful at least, and can be hurtful.

If you're nothing but a joker, people won't take you seriously when you're trying to be serious. If your humor is funny, just being there will make people laugh when they should be doing something else.

Some of us need to memorize Philippians 4:5: "Let your moderation be known to all men".

I Corinthians 10:31 says "Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God". This rule applies to your whole life--eating, drinking, sleeping, working, exercising, going on vacation, and everything else. Including humor.

Humor is meant to make others happy. If God made you funny, He didn't do it to boost your ego or to make you the center of attention. Use the gift of humor (like any other gift) to bless others. Not to cut others down or to make yourself seem oh so clever.

If you have a good sense of humor, you know how great it feels to snap off a funny line.

Humor, like every other good thing, is a gift of God. We ought to thank Him for it--I Thessalonians 5:18.

We ought to enjoy it--I Timothy 6:17.

We ought to put it to good use, in blessing others--I Peter 4:10.

We must not abuse it.

If you have a good sense of humor, remember these things. If you don't, enjoy the humor others have, but don't envy them, for humor is not only a great blessing, but a great temptation.

God give us the grace to joke in His hearing and for the happiness of His people. Through Jesus Christ. Amen.