Dailies: Laughing matters

I don’t know why we haven’t written on humour and laughter before. I really don’t.

It’s not as if we share the viewpoint of those who think that God and religion is no laughing matter and should only to be discussed and experienced in an atmosphere of dead seriousness. How dead it usually ends up to be is really a serious matter. More sad than serious but nevertheless. Not for a moment are we suggesting that these are subjects to be ridiculed – they are too important for us. But from experience we do know that in order to come to terms with the serious it is helpful and sometimes even necessary to follow the route of humour. Quite often wisdom and guidance are wrapped in laughter and it may be necessary to look at the lighter side of things in order to touch the deep.

Creation is filled to the brim with things that hint on a playful God. There are so many elements in the stories and lives of the people of the Old Testament and in the parables of Jesus that can only be really appreciated with a twinkle in the eye.

A good sense of humour is one of the most important corner stones of a deep and grounded spirituality. It is an element that will surface quite often in our writing. We will not be true to our understanding of God if we left it out.

George

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