The Jeers of a Clown

And when he called the people to him and said to them, "Hear and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth... 

"...what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart and defiles a person"

-Matthew 13:11, 18

What comes out of my mouth?  Reading this scripture I of course focus on what is not good.  And when I measure the total of it I am disappointed to see that too much of it demonstrates a heart and mind conditioned by the flesh, popular media/culture and the underlying desire to be a clown.  I suppose we all find our "niche" in life from an early age.  Mine was seeing early that I could make people laugh.  What comes along with that is a certain attraction to humor from what you see and hear around you.  In our society this humor is usually attached to subjects which are not pleasing to God.  It most often comes at the expense of others and pushes the boundaries (or just jumps across them) of appropriateness.

In my case, for everything that actually comes out of my mouth, my mind had formed another 20 responses that I was "wise" enough to hold back.  I have spent 45 years honing this "skill".  I would like to think I have matured over time and show more discretion than years past.  I have worked to not be so cruel with humor to not hurt other's feelings.  But at the heart of it all is too much which is unpleasing to God and unfortunately does reflect a hear that has been filled with too much compromise over time.  

Scripture tells me that the words of a fool are many and I am not supposed to make foolish talk. So is humor wrong? No.  However, Matthew 12:36 says that we will give account for every careless word we speak.  So we would do well to consider some filters in the use of humor:

• Am I building up or tearing down?
• Is the subject appropriate and reflective of Christ? Is he laughing?
• Why am I saying these things?  Am I relying on them to be accepted or liked?
• What does the humor, whether stated or not, say about what is in my heart.

Ouch, I could get very quiet moving through the day at this point. But as Christians we know that it is not just about removing the things that displease God - we must replace them with that which does please Him. Humor and laughter should come from a place that reflects the love of Christ as the Holy Spirit transforms our hearts from the effects of sin.  

I can't think of a way to end today's blog - a little writer's block.  It seems a good joke might serve me well about right now.  But I think I will refrain and let God's Word just settle in my heart this morning.  I'll let Mark Twain have the last word instead.

"It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt."