I have always loved a good joke. Harmless, silly humor is not only fun, it’s also important because it keeps us buoyant and allows us to float above the heavy circumstances life so often hands us.
However, as Solomon said, there’s a time for everything: when it comes to God, there is no place for humorous disregard. God is no joke! Reverence, awe, love, and respect replace silliness when it comes to regarding the majestic estate of the Almighty. That’s not to say that God may have no sense of humor, but our attitude toward him must always be respectful and worshipful.
God deserves our respect and worship. When I consider all he has done for me, and for humankind in general, my mood shifts naturally from one of mirth to one of deep gratitude and humility. There is no way for me to attain his righteousness except by the way he made for me – Jesus, his son. As Horatio Spafford penned in his hymn, “It Is Well With My Soul”:
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate and hath shed his own blood for my soul! This is the very seed of the Gospel, planted firmly and revealed within the pages of the Bible. God made a way for us to attain his righteous through Jesus, his son, who submitted to the humility of a real human life, a mock trial and a brutal murder. This is no laughing matter. In fact, it is the only thing that does matter. Our God is certainly no joke. Let us respect him with grateful hearts, obedient lives, and loving attitudes toward others.
– Jim Willeford, Herald of Truth Ministries