WANTED: LEVITY.

You have got to lighten up. All this talk about responsibility, faith, hope, love, and leading our communities can get a little heavy. Just because you have faith in God doesn’t mean you walk around with a serious scowl face.

It still cracks me up when I walk into a church service and see people sitting in a neat row dressed up and put together just perfectly. I used to think that church was no fun because you couldn’t be “that guy” in church. No jokes, no laughs, no sarcasm… no thank you.

Christ teaches us in the Bible that walking around with sad, glum, ashen faces to show that you are following God is just ridiculous. There were quite a few people back then that took the vow of fasting very seriously (which I still believe is very valid), and they were instructed to fast in private. Fasting is something you do between you and God. But these people would put on their ragged clothes, put ashes on their face, and mope around town just trying to get someone to ask them, “What’s wrong?” Then like a Red Fish hitting cut bait… bam! The person fasting would give that frowned up sad look and say… I’m fasting… for the Lord. And the crowd collectively says… “Awwww – it’ll be ok. You’re such a saint.”

Stop being such a downer. Yes, we all have problems and we’ve just got to get over ourselves. Have fun with your life. You can be a faithful man of God and still have a good time. Tell a joke, laugh at a joke… make fun of something stupid. But a word of caution… if you don’t know how to be funny, don’t tell jokes… just laugh at other people’s jokes – save yourself the embarrassment.

I’ve also learned that sarcasm is something that has to be delivered in person. I’ve tried to email some rather sharp retorts back to friends before and it came off pretty rough. I was accused of being a pretentious ass. I was trying to be funny… it didn’t work.

I think God has a great sense of humor. I think Christ Jesus had a lot of moments with his disciples where they were laughing, joking around, and having a good time. Who would want to be serious all the time? I have this picture given to me by Rev. Tom East. It’s a picture of Jesus with his head thrown back, eyes squinting, mouth open in full laughter… I Love this! This is what I’m talking about.

There is a guy I know in our church that rarely smiles. Everything is so dire. Each conversation ends with… but you better listen to the Lord or you’ll go to hell. If there is one person I really try to avoid… it’s that guy. I love him for his passion and conviction, but I just don’t need to be in “downer mode” all the time. I give him the perfunctory “Hey buddy! How’s it going?” as I race walk past him as if I’m going somewhere in a hurry.

I teach a Sunday school class with my buddy Steve Fandel and we have a good time. There have been many moments where I laid a big egg on the class trying to be funny and my wife just looks at me like I am king of the dorks and have brought shame on our family name. In her defense, I often get out of line. There’s a time and a place… and sometimes bathroom humor just doesn’t fly in the mixed company of the Sunday school class (even though I always see them snickering under their breath).

Relax – it’s all good.

Lighten up guys. Take a break from all this serious stuff. If you attend a church where everybody walks in with ashen faces and furled up brows… run away. A small group of friends and I meet together each week at the coffee house on Friday morning. We touch base on the week and just gather as guys of faith. I can assure you that 90% of our conversations end in some kind of sarcastic laugh or joke (ok… 98%). We have a good time… isn’t that what life is about?

Love God. Do His work. Enjoy what you have been blessed with… laugh. I wish I had some great joke or funny quips to leave you here, but as I mentioned before – my sarcasm doesn’t come across too well in print. So… rest assured – I have a good time – I am serious – and I love to joke and laugh.

There’s plenty of time to be serious, but don’t separate who you are and give up your identity just because you love God. Joy… joy… joy. Consider it all Joy.

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About

Welcome, and thanks for dragging yourself over to Live|Bold! My name is Greg Arnold and I am pumped to see you here. This interactive online community is here to point every man toward the cross. Whether you have been a follower of Christ for ages, or you are just stumbling into this strange new world of faith, we have something of value to offer you. This online e-zine is a cross between a blog, a social network, a resource center, and a pulpit. My hope is to inspire you to live your faith on the outside and be a real man for God. We need you in the fight.