Somebody had a “sense of humor!”

I never really thought about it until that week long meeting by Bob Buchannan on Satanism. I was attending the church in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Deniese and I were somewhat newly married. One of the first things Deniese had done upon acquiring a new husband, son, and house was to transform everything from he-manly brown everywhere (curtains, bedspreads, furniture, everything) to more happy/friendly/bright rooms with <gasp!> flowers and colors. That included moving my Dungeon and Dragons lead miniatures that I had been collecting since early high school and hand painted OFF of their hanging place on the bedroom wall and OUT of the room altogether.

They ended up in Dave’s room, since he wanted them so much. And then during that 8 day long meeting (Sunday to Sunday, as best I recall) Bob brought various show and tell items and laid them out front. One of the show and tell items were lead D&D miniatures! His point was showing how we as a culture had embraced many of these mildly satanic items, which were harmless, and put a softer side to the ugliness that is evil. He had plenty of other things to talk about that were not so harmless, and his lessons were very, very good (I have them on VHS, if anyone is interested)

But I had taken cards advertising the meeting to work, and given them to some of the folks there. I was very excited, having not worked at a white collar job for long and thought surely these educated, intelligent people were just waiting for someone like me to simply invite them to hear the gospel and they would consider it, see it for the good it is, and become Christians. Yes, I was very excited – and very disappointed. None of them came. When I asked with a little hesitation some time later why my supervisor in particular didn’t come – he had expressed interest in Godly things before – he was caught off guard. It turns out he looked at the card – A Study in Satanism – and then the church phone number –579-6661. Further looking at the church’s address – 6660 Galley Rd, he’d figured I was just pulling his leg.

One of these, I could see being an accident. But two of them? Knowing it was a church, of all things? Someone, I think, had a twisted sense of humor. I asked the elders why we didn’t at least change the phone number, and they were very kind in answering me. The church had had this number and address for along time – would I make it harder for people to find us just for the sake of superstitious nonsense? Besides, don’t we have a sense of humor, too? A better one, I’d hope.

I thought a lot about that, and they were right. We often think of a sense of humor as someone who laughs at many things, and doesn’t let situations bother their optimism. People with a good sense of humor are optimistic – they might joke a bit but they aren’t mean. They know there are much more important things to concern themselves with, and they don’t let setbacks or disappointments crush their spirit. While a good sense of humor is a great defense mechanism, that isn’t all there is. To have it, you need to have hope for something better. Someone with a good sense of humor shrugs off the fact someone pulled out in front of them on their way to visit a friend. They maintain their good humor – visiting the friend is what’s important to them! Someone with a good sense of humor ignores the barbs and thoughtlessness of even fellow Christians; they remember God has done so very much more for us and count it as joy of being able to carry some of another’s burden (ever think of it that way?)

I would suggest to you that someone with a good sense of humor bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Sound familiar? Yes, Jesus had a great sense of humor, and it’s not hard to see. There are obvious times, like when he performs the miracle of the coin in the fish’s mouth for Peter. That seems downright as a private joke between friends to me. But how about this for a good sense of humor. He obeyed God and died on the cross for our sins. Happy to be doing it? No way, not in the flesh. But he looked beyond that and allowed the conclusion of the matter to buoy up his mindset. There was nothing funny about it, yet he did not despair, did not falter, did not fail. He maintained his good humor, and bore all of our burdens.

Satanism is all about “me.” Christianity is all about “us.” Folks who are self-focused never seem to be satisfied, and never seem to be happy. They really aren’t in all that good of humor, and more importantly they don’t have good sense. Think about it!

Randy