The broader question here could be put this way: are there subjects Christian people should not find funny? I use Dave Chappelle as an example because, at the time of this writing, the comic has just released two, one-hour long Netflix comedy specials, which include jokes surrounding the themes of rape, the LGBTQ community, and other sexually explicit subjects. Is it wrong for us to laugh at things like this?
Jokes involve the crucial element of surprise. The reason something is funny is because something is unexpected. And the best jokes make you laugh harder than you’re expecting. The funniest thing to you involve you bowling over in your chair as tears stream down your face and a little snot comes out of your nose. Your face hurts. We all have one or many memories of trying not to laugh in a classroom, wedding, or funeral, all for nothing because some of the best laughs cannot be contained. People often talk about “an ugly cry,” but rarely do we remember our ugly laughs. They exist, believe me.
And so there is an element of laughter you cannot control. It’s a larger part of the process than you may think. In many ways and in many moments, we cannot help but laugh. All of us have been in the back row (or the front row) of a class when something strikes you funny and containing the laugh only makes you laugh all the more. When Mr. Marsh turns around to write on the white board only to reveal the smallest, most insignificant brown stain on his bright kaki pants, and you catch eyes with Alex Cassidy, you will not be able to stop yourself from laughing. At that point, you cover your mouth, tighten your jaw, and let the tears boil up in your eyelids. In the best moments, laughter happens to you.
In two of the three churches I have worked for and pastored in, we have had a value (written out and published in booklets, handbooks, and websites) of “humor.” It was put two different ways: at one church, we said, “we take God and his word seriously, but not ourselves.” In another we said, “God is sacred, everything else can be laughed at.” Everything else. Censoring humor and saying certain things are “not OK” to laugh at brings up two problems. First, as I’ve just said, it’s impossible to obey a command to not laugh — laughter is something that surprises you and takes you over. Secondly, the command is a slippery slope. What makes this OK to laugh at and not that? And why? And who says? Just because something is culturally sensitive now does not mean it’s not OK to laugh at. People in the 1950s never made jokes about sex, now that’s all we write jokes about. You used to not be able to say “ass” in your television show, now all television shows use it. Cultural sensitivity is a moving target and humor is always trying to show us where it is and how to demolish it. The more we move with a moving target, the more Pharisaical our future looks.
Laughter, in any case, is not a sin. It is interesting, in one of the more clearer passages connected to crude jokes, Paul writes, “Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place” (Eph. 5:4). There is no command against laughing at such jokes. Probably because, as I said, I’m not sure it’s up to us (unfortunately).
What is clear, however, is our development, delivery, and divulging in such “crude jokes” that must be avoided and replaced with thanksgiving. I find Jesus’ words about dietary restrictions helpful: it’s not what goes in that makes you unclean, but what comes out (Matthew 15:11–17). The content we digest — and this goes the same for rap music or other kinds of entertainment including vulgar language — does not make us unclean, but the content of our own mouths and lives that makes us unclean. A paralyzing Christian truth reveals that rap music or stand-up comedy is not evil, we are. There’s no blaming the artist or the comedian, only ourselves. And the better question than, “is it ok to watch or laugh at ___________?” is, “Why do I want to watch or laugh at_________?” or, “Why am I laughing right now?” This is the heart of the issue. What makes you enjoy these things and not the things of God? Could this be a space in your heart God desires to renew and clean out? Probably. But meanwhile, it’s OK to laugh. Relax. That’s not the deepest thing going on in this question.
