A Contrast Between Comedians of Today and Another Era

The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly.  The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.  The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.  –Proverbs 15:2-4 

I am amazed these days at what passes for humor.  I had the misfortune one evening of hearing a few minutes of a comedy routine by a well-known comedian.  It was quickly apparent that his entire approach to comedy was to use nearly constant profanity.  A few minutes was enough; not only was he not funny, but his use of the worst kind of profanity rendered the routine hollow and dull.  Like me, you may wonder why today’s comedians, songwriters, and movie makers have the bizarre idea that the general public longs to be bombarded with the “f” word.  Call me crazy or old-fashioned, but you don’t have to curse to be funny.  Honest; you don’t.

Okay, here I go, and at the risk of truly sounding like an old fuddy-duddy, let me tell you about some comedians of another era.  I recall when I was a boy sitting in front of the TV on Saturday nights with my family and watching a comedian named Red Skelton.  Anyone reading this under the age of 40 probably never heard of him, but he was a popular comedian in the 1940’s through the 1960’s.  He was genuinely funny and he never, not once, used profanity of any kind.  The same can be said of the Three Stooges, Abbot and Costello, Groucho Marx, and Laurel and Hardy.  Again, any younger readers will not recognize these names, but believe me when I say that these comedians understood that being comical was possible in a manner that appealed to people of all ages.  And they were so creative with their comedy that they didn’t need to shock audiences with gross profanity.  Their humor left people gasping for breath. 

The Scripture says that a wise person speaks in ways that demonstrate wisdom, but a fool will gush forth folly.  We can rest assured that the Lord is aware of this, and God blesses us when we use our mouths for the spreading of good news and good tidings of the love of Jesus Christ.  Consider that when we open our mouths to speak, someone is listening.  What are they hearing?  Let’s be sure that what comes out of our mouths honors the Lord and is not anything that would bring shame upon us as followers of Jesus Christ. 

Everyone needs a good laugh; as frequently as possible, in fact.  All we need to do is look around us and we find wonderful humor everywhere; humor that honors God and doesn’t profane His holy Word or tarnish our witness for Christ. 

The troubled soul can find laughter to be a soothing balm to the spirit.  Be sure that the Lord blesses us when we honor Him in all areas of life – even what we find to be funny.