TODAY IN THE WORD
In The Magician’s Nephew, part of the Chronicles of Narnia series by C. S. Lewis, Aslan reassures the talking animals that he has created the legitimacy of laughter: “Now that you are no longer dumb and witless, you need not always be grave. For jokes as well as justice come in with speech.”

Yesterday’s passage gave a list of negative behaviors and attitudes to avoid; today’s passage provides positive actions and perspectives to embrace. The apostle Paul calls us to rejoice! This is more than simply feeling merry or having a good time. The root of our rejoicing is in the Lord. Based on what our Lord has done for us, our joy does not depend on circumstances but on our situation in Christ (see Phil. 2:1-9).

We can also be free from worry, for we have access to God Himself in prayer (v. 6). By recognizing that His sovereign control is combined with His vast love for us, we can have peace that defies logical explanation.

Finally, Paul makes a list of qualities to inform our thoughts and attitudes—and yes, our sense of humor and comedy as well. The construction of this list hints at its unlimited nature; Paul recommends whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable . . . and then as if he knows he could keep going forever, he wraps up by saying, “if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (v. 8). Far from limiting us, God expands our horizon of things to enjoy and celebrate!

When it comes to making decisions about humor, we have a helpful guideline in these verses. Throughout this month, we’ve seen various examples of humor in Scripture, from comical characters to funny situations to absurd descriptions, so humor can be enjoyed by the people of God. The key is holding our humor to the standard described here. We should never compromise our holiness for the sake of humor. Humor that points to truth, a satire that pokes fun at evil, or a comedy that is well-done and lovely are all appropriate for believers.

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TODAY ALONG THE WAY
It’s probably easy to think of humor in our culture that doesn’t meet the standards set in our passage. Can you think of examples that do? Mark Lowry, Dennis Swanberg, and Anita Renfroe all combine side-splitting comedy with a commitment to Christ. Writers like C. S. Lewis, Jerry Jenkins, John Koessler, and Marilynne Robinson weave humor throughout their writing. Veggie Tales are delightful cartoons that children (and adults!) enjoy. Even our sense of humor can be consistent with the guidelines in Philippians 4:8.

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