The
prankster, the joker, the wit, the funny one.
The one who tries to bring the funny to any situation.
In
our family there are three of us. My
husband and I can giggle and laugh at the dumbest stuff, bouncing funny comments
off one another just because. I used to
muse that I was so happy that my son had inherited my sense of humor. I said used to.
That
was before he started leaping from behind walls and telling wild stories just
to see my reaction, then saying “Joking!” when my eyes were about to bug out of
my head.
My
mother will tell you that I deserve every bit of it. She’s right.
Our
daughter is the odd one out. Maybe it’s
just because she’s the youngest, but she gets very indignant when the rest of
us are joking around and she doesn’t get it.
Angry
and teary, even.
I
don’t blame her. Sometimes our joking
around is at each other’s expense. No
one likes to be teased. No one likes to
be laughed at, even if the laughing is from those who love us the most. We have to be careful that we don’t damage
her sensitive nature. Someday she might
get it, but that time is not now. She
doesn’t like to be reminded that she doesn’t get it.
Isn’t
that how we all are sometimes? Sensitive
to others who know something we don’t?
Jealous and resentful that someone else has what we don’t, even if it’s just
an inside joke? We only want to belong, claim
our seat at the table. When we don’t get
it, we sulk, are hurt.
One
thing that God is not is a
joker. Sure, everyone says that God has
a sense of humor, but it is never at anyone’s expense. God doesn’t tease. He doesn’t tell us something we find pleasure
in, only to pull the rug out from under us.
God takes his word very seriously.
The Bible is full of commands and texts that convict us to reexamine our
lives to better align with what he wants for us.
After
all, God wants us to live with him forever.
There will be no room for someone who maligns another, who tries to
one-up his neighbor, who teases and taunts to produce tears.
I
am sensitive of this in my own family, for my daughter’s sake. I fail
every now and then, and am reminded of my failure when her face crumples and
the tears roll. At that moment I hope to
stop and be reminded how many times God keeps his word with me, how many times
I stumble and instead of laughing at me, he reaches out his hand and helps me
to stand.
And
I am thankful that God takes his love for me seriously, and there’s no joking
around about it.
Well, I know a few things myself - and you’re no better than I am. Who doesn’t know these things you’ve been saying? Yet my friends laugh at me, for I call on God and expect an answer. I am a just and blameless man, yet they laugh at me. People who are at ease mock those in trouble. They give a push to people who are stumbling. Job 12:3-5 (NLT)
If you bite and devour
each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. Galatians 5:15 (NIV)
Help me, Lord my God; save me according to your unfailing love. Psalm 109:26 (NIV)
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