"But he seemed to
his sons-in-law to be jesting." Genesis 19:14
Are we too funny? This question may strike you
as odd, but I believe it's worthy of our introspection. Sure, our friends are
familiar with our sense of humor; it's no secret that we like to laugh and have
a good time. For the most part, they know when we're kidding, right? They seem
to genuinely like our jokes and find us enjoyable to be around. But are we too funny? Could we be described as
predominantly humorous? Do we tease too much? Do we draw from the well of fun
and games so often that we can't be taken seriously? If so, this is a problem.
Scripture doesn't give us a lot about Lot, at
least concerning his sense of humor. And it would do us no good to force the
text to say something it doesn't. So let's just look at what it does say. In
Genesis 19 the angels asked Lot if he had any other family within the city.
They warned him to gather all his loved ones so that they could leave immediately,
for the Lord was about to destroy the place (Genesis 19:12-13). "So Lot
went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters,
"Up! Get out of this place, for the Lord is about to destroy the
city." But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting" (Genesis
19:14). Maybe the fault belongs solely to these would be sons-in-law. Perhaps
they were in error of goofing too much. Maybe they struggled to believe that
God would destroy the wicked city with fire.
But what if the message seemed incredible
because of the messenger. After all, why would they think Lot was jesting? Was
he in the habit of cracking similar one-liners? "Hey boys, have you heard
the one about God Almighty bringing judgment upon the debauchery of Sodom and
Gomorrah?" Did the words seem so uncharacteristic of Lot's ways that the
warning was simply unbelievable? Again, we can't know for sure and it would be
silly to speculate much further.
However, this does raise some important
questions for us. Do we goof too much? Are we able to be taken seriously by our
friends? Do our words align with the way in which we live? Can we warn of sin's
wages and proclaim Jesus' cure, which comes through his gospel or would that
topic be out of character with the rest of our life? Are we glib when we speak
of His glory? Are we irreverent instead of in awe?
I'm convicted when I consider these questions.
I love to laugh and have a good time, but I know our fullness of joy is found
in Christ alone. And because of that awareness, I must admit that I'm guilty at
times. I'm guilty of being flippant with matters of the faith. Maybe more
accurately, I'm too careless in how my own faith is fleshed out. I can honestly
say that I mean what I say; I don't speak of the gospel insincerely. Yet, if my
pursuit of functional holiness is lax, I'm afraid it clouds the message.
For me personally, I've discovered the root to
my temptation in this area. When it comes to softening the gospel message to
make it more palatable, the root for me is found in my desire to be liked. I'm
a people-pleaser by nature. I want people to be happy. I want them to like me.
But is it more important for them to “like” me or for them to know and love
God? Is it hard for folks to imagine that Jesus truly is my richest, most
valuable treasure? If so, it might just be because I'm busy trying to be funny…and
if this is true, well, it’s no laughing matter.
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| Matt Fowler Associate Pastor of Missions & Students matt@nbchurch.info @fattmowler |
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