Getting a <em>Sense</em> of Humor

The family gathers around the dinner table, everyone smiling. Before the food is served, bright, exciting news springs from their lips. Then come stories of fun, stories of mistakes, and stories of good times. If you listen, you will hear a familiar sound: laughter and mirth, the sound of rejoicing!

This is the Feast, a time when God’s people gather together and rejoice. Few things express this joy better than through big smiles and sharing laughter among friends and family.

Clearly, this is a good thing. There are few things better in life than sharing happy moments and laughing with friends. Many times, God states that right attitudes, along with obedience, will make one happy.

Happiness and laughter go hand in hand. One of the most sought after qualities in nearly all relationships—with friends, employees, coaches, spouses, teachers, students, employers and most everyone with whom we spend time—is a good sense of humor. Most people like to be around someone who can make them laugh and lift them up when they are down. A person who can uplift others with his sense of humor will find it easy to make friends.

However, there is a right time and a wrong time for humor (Ecc. 3:4). There are also good subjects and good humor, as well as bad subjects and bad humor. It is important to know the difference.

A Time to Laugh

When having fun with friends or enjoying recreational events, jokes and laughter are expected—and plenty of it!

There are great ways to enjoy humor. A fun method is to be “punny” with clichés. While this may elicit some groans from those who don’t expect it, phrases such as “I am baking a difference,” when cooking a pie for an injured friend, or “I got a taste of the reel thing,” when referring to an interesting accident on your first fishing trip, can definitely lighten the conversation.

Another good example could be to explain the mysterious weight gain that occurs at the Feast: “There was a series of unfortunate desserts” should be sufficient explanation, but sometimes, “I rarely order so much steak but this time I fared medium-well” might paint a much rounder picture.

However, a right time for humor implies there is a time when it is not good to use. During serious events or occasions, such as after hearing of an unexpected death or when listening to instruction from a teacher or leader, joking is not appropriate.

In addition, there are subjects that are inappropriate for making jokes. These most commonly occur in areas in which the speaker is uncomfortable. Especially with teens, when one is talking about an uncomfortable subject, such as puberty, it is tempting to try to make light of the situation by making jokes. While there may be rare exceptions, often such jokes are not funny, and simply expose the speaker’s unwillingness to maturely discuss a serious or difficult subject.

God’s Humor

God also displays a sense of humor in several ways. While the Bible does not contain any references to jokes that God enjoys, or what particular type of humor He likes the most, it does indicate that He approves of a good sense of humor. Consider the story when Elijah contended with the prophets of Baal and put forth a test to prove that the God of Israel was the true God. After many hours of watching the prophets of Baal dance around and act foolishly with no success, Elijah displayed an enjoyable sense of humor when he mocked them: “And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleeps, and must be awaked” (I Kings 18:27). The Bible also states that God laughs (Psa. 37:13) and that laughter will be given as a blessing to those who endure hard times now (Luke 6:21).

God’s sense of humor is clearly evident throughout many aspects of His creation. The more you study nature, the more you will find subtle ironies and amusing creatures interwoven within the beautiful artwork of creation. Some examples previously mentioned in Ambassador Youth are the duck-billed platypus, which is so goofy looking that it quickly yields laughter when seen, and the penguin, whose characteristic walk is comedic.

Another wonderful example is the albatross, which is often considered one of the most majestic creatures. To see them in flight is a thing of beauty, and they are considered examples of such gorgeous design that man has named many types of planes and cars after them. However, those manufacturers might have second thoughts if they saw one of these birds land. After their majestic flights, they come in for a landing with a skip, bounce and a roll—quite often planting themselves face first in the dirt!

Develop Good Humor

Learning to have a good sense of humor is a core component of becoming a well-rounded person. Most of this is learning what type of humor to use, when to use it, how to use it, and just as important, when not to use it. One can use wit to uplift a conversation with an interesting twist. One can—and should—use a moderate amount of comedy to add excitement and spice to writing and speaking, when appropriate.

On a related note, joking with your close friends about their minor errors, faults and foibles can be a great way for both of you to become more comfortable with one another. You will be able to keep one another on your toes, and improve one another as “iron sharpening iron.” But you must be careful not to become too harsh or coarse in doing so, as outright insults are not funny and are simply an attempt by the speaker to elevate himself at the expense of others.

Also, today, it has become popular to mock those in authority. Comedians, journalists, television shows and movies receive a great deal of “laughs” by making fun of the president, congressmen, teachers, bosses—even the father in every family. This sort of humor is not appropriate. Part of showing proper respect to authority is that one should never take their words lightly—and one should definitely never mock or disdain them. This is something that all of us have to take special care to avoid. It has become so common in nearly all forms of media that it is easy to slip into the habit of mocking those over you because it is supposedly funny.

Finally, as mentioned earlier, developing good humor means developing good sense. Doing this takes practice and experience. You will find that studying the example of older members in the Church will help you gain a good idea of what kind of humor is good and what kind to avoid. All in all, this is one of those areas of life that is fun to improve. Enjoy it—and don’t forget to laugh at yourself!