It was a normal day for me, though sweaty and humid. As I
scrolled through the unread WhatsApp messages, I read a joke in one of the
groups…a joke on God! People reacted with laughter emoticons, as expected,
because the joke was funny. The reactions were from Christians. But I cringed.
God joking to a husband about his wife, or a to a man about
all the women in the world, these are popular ones. How is it that we find it
funny to joke on God? We might not joke on a particular person, because he/she
might get offended. But we indulge in God-centric humour so easily. Billy Graham once said: “The society is careful not to offend anyone, except GOD.”
God is not someone we should be scared of, but He is to be
revered. In the Old Testament, the Israelites called him YHWH, afraid to call
Him Jehovah or Yahweh. If God appeared to them, they feared they would die.
Such was God’s holiness! He didn’t want to kill people, but His holiness
couldn’t stand the sight of sin. He appeared in storms, clouds, fire or a
burning bush. Moses wanted to see Him, but God allowed Him to look only at His
back (Exodus 33:18-23). God’s holiness is beyond our imagination. Prophet Isaiah saw God in His full splendour, with the seraphim calling to one another,
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”
(Isaiah 6:3b).
The third commandment from the Ten Commandments that God
gave Moses says, “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the
Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.” (Exodus 20:7)
The God of New Testament gave us more access to Him, through
Jesus’ death and resurrection. He tore the veil so that we can enter the Holy
of Holies. He gave us His grace which allows us to enter His presence as we are.
But, should we take His grace for granted? Yes, He is merciful, slow to anger
and full of unfailing love. But, does that allow us to take Him for granted? He
doesn’t punish us according to what we deserve. But can we continue to joke on
Him?
A conversation with two like-minded believers made me
understand this behaviour of Christians indulging in God-centric humour. Most
of us are church-goers because our parents are also church-goers. We read the
Bible because our parents told us to do so. But a person who has understood the
message of the Cross and Jesus’s sacrifice will never dare to crack a joke on
God. A person who understands that God, despite His awe-inspiring holiness,
bows down to listen to us, will refrain from forwarding such jokes.
I am not saying that people who forward such jokes are far
away from God. But in the first place, how can they accept such jokes? I am not
trying to be self-righteous or super-spiritual. But most of us have failed to comprehend
God’s grace.
Some have crossed their limits by joking about the Holy
Spirit. I shudder at the very thought of even remembering what they say. Jesus
says in Mark 3:29, “…but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never
be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin." Isn’t this enough for us
to stop joking about the Holy Spirit? It’s difficult to imagine that our
Father, who’s quick to forgive, will not forgive if we blaspheme (also read,
joke) against the Holy Spirit.
Again, I claim I am not trying to be super-holy. But how
must God feel when His own children take Him lightly? Something for all of us
to ponder on…
