Jonathan's Perspective on Having a Sense of Humor

It's time to switch gears and lighten things up a bit.  As the Bible says in Ecclesiastes 3:4, "there is a time to weep, and a time to laugh."  I believe strongly that God desires our lives to be filled with joy and laughter.  In Psalms, when describing what it will look like when God ushers in His eternal kingdom, says "Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, 'The Lord has done great things for them.'  The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy."(Psalm 126:2‭-‬3).
This wonderful feeling can be experienced in some small way when we laugh.

To be able to do that enough to get through the difficulties of life all begins with the lens through which we look at the world.  Are you only able to complain about your circumstances or can you laugh about them?  Better yet, can you laugh at yourself?  I think we've all had those moments when we walk into a room and think: "What did I come in here for?"  When that happens, I think the healthy response is to laugh at yourself and continue on with your day with a smile.

And now I'd like to share some things that I find especially funny.  I will begin with some puns that hopefully will elicit more of a laugh than a groan.

1. Coffee has a rough time in this house.  It gets mugged every single morning!

2. I asked a Frenchman if he played video games.  He said Wii!

3. My girlfriend told me she was leaving me because I keep pretending to be a Transformer. I said, "No, wait! I can change."

4. Three conspiracy theorists walk into a bar...  You can't tell me that's just a coincidence.

5. A man just assaulted me with milk, cream and butter. How dairy!

Another thing that makes me laugh is a limerick.  A limerick is a humorous 5 line poem with a very specific rhyming sequence.  The 1st, 2nd, and 5th lines all rhyme and the 3rd and 4th rhyme with each other.  On a summer road trip back in 2006, my family and I came up with limericks to help pass the time during long hours on the freeways up to Illinois.  We used names of cities we passed as inspiration.  My favorite was inspired by the city of Paducah, KY.

There once was a woman in Puducah
Whose name was Commander Pestrucah
Who just for fun
Invented a gun
To shoot chickens out a Bazooka

Now, tell me that isn't funny!

Another series of jokes I revisit every few years are funny phrases or typos found on church bulletins.  Here are a few of the best.

1. Miss Charlene Mason sang “I will not pass this way again” giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.

2. Helpers are needed! Please sign up on the information sheep.

3. Low Self-Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 to 8:30p.m. Please use the back door.

4. The eighth-graders will be presenting Shakespeare’s Hamlet in the church basement on Friday at 7 p.m. The congregation is invited to attend this tragedy.

And I can't fail to mention the hilarious Tim Hawkins, whose zany humor can easily be found on YouTube.

https://youtu.be/ndeZ2rJk1Lw

Part 2: https://youtu.be/CBhyskisVNM

I will conclude by saying I think it is very important to surround yourself with people that make you laugh.  I firmly believe that a large portion of the joy believers will feel in heaven, second to experiencing the glorious presence of our loving Savior Jesus, will be the laughter and pleasure of fellowship with fellow believers.

So, have a laugh, get a smile on your face, and enjoy life today!