If you've spent much time at our house, you may have found your funny bone tickled. You may have even been shocked at the goofiness that happens in our home. Although it has now been a while, there have been periods of time where people launching milk out of their noses has been a fairly routine occurrence at our dinner table. Several times a week, Ian falls on the floor in fits of laughter. Just this morning, I came into the living room dancing a jig, sending Brittney into laughter. I just felt like dancing, and that's okay.
Christians have developed the unfortunate reputation for being a rather mirthless, somber bunch. Too many of us get uncomfortable if we laugh too hard. We think it implies that we are not serious believers. When we laugh at something, we worry about what other believers will think about us and our commitment.
Sadly, our humorlessness can be inauthentic and unattractive. When I went through counseling a couple of years ago, one of the things that I discovered about myself was that I tried to present myself as having it all together, which to me, equated to typically being serious. There were certain places where my humor would come out regularly, but I typically tried to keep it at bay. Unfortunately, it would usually come out sideways.
Part of my growing in authenticity is to be serious when I am feeling serious, to be sad when I am feeling sad, and to be goofy when I am feeling goofy. We need to create space for one another to be real with the full range of emotions. So, if you come to my house and I am dancing to "Shake It Off" or one of my children accidentally spews milk across the table from something I have said, laugh with us. I bet Jesus does.
1 comment:
My problem is that I will tell a joke at the expense of somebody else. Need to think before I speak!
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