God Can Be So Hilarious

No one laughs at God in a hospital

No one laughs at God in a war
No one’s laughing at God
When they’re starving or freezing or so very poor

No one laughs at God
When the doctor calls after some routine tests
No one’s laughing at God
When it’s gotten real late
And their kid’s not back from the party yet

No one laughs at God
When their airplane start to uncontrollably shake
No one’s laughing at God
When they see the one they love, hand in hand with someone else
And they hope that they’re mistaken

No one laughs at God
When the cops knock on their door
And they say we got some bad news, sir
No one’s laughing at God
When there’s a famine or fire or flood

*Chorus*
But God can be funny
At a cocktail party when listening to a good God-themed joke, or
Or when the crazies say He hates us
And they get so red in the head you think they’re ‘bout to choke
God can be funny,
When told he’ll give you money if you just pray the right way
And when presented like a genie who does magic like Houdini
Or grants wishes like Jiminy Cricket and Santa Claus
God can be so hilarious
Ha ha
Ha ha

No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one’s laughing at God
When they’ve lost all they’ve got
And they don’t know what for

No one laughs at God on the day they realize
That the last sight they’ll ever see is a pair of hateful eyes
No one’s laughing at God when they’re saying their goodbyes
But God can be funny
At a cocktail party when listening to a good God-themed joke, or
Or when the crazies say He hates us
And they get so red in the head you think they’re ‘bout to choke
God can be funny,
When told he’ll give you money if you just pray the right way
And when presented like a genie who does magic like Houdini
Or grants wishes like Jiminy Cricket and Santa Claus
God can be so hilarious

No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one laughing at God in hospital
No one’s laughing at God in a war
No one’s laughing at God when they’re starving or freezing or so very
poor

No one’s laughing at God
No one’s laughing at God
No one’s laughing at God
We’re all laughing with God

"Laughing With" Regina Spektor

How often do we, as a society: beg for God's healing power, get angry at Him when people close to us pass away, assume heaven is a sure thing for good people, or blame him for evils in the world like war, unemployment, slavery, and discrimination?

I would say we, as a society do all those things every day. When life isn't going our way, when it gets tough...who's to blame? God's to blame.

But how often, then, do we as a society: mock 'Jesus-freaks', 'bible-bangers', or people who are 'holier-than-thou'? disregard Jesus and the sacrifice He made for us on the cross? outright laugh at the claims Jesus made, and how much he values us?

Well, I would say that we're pretty good at doing that too.

We can think that Jesus is ridiculous all we want, but when tough times fall...who's to blame? The God we say doesn't exist and is a figment of Christians' imaginations? Hmm okay. We deem it appropriate to mock Jesus when everything in our lives is going smoothly...but when life just plain sucks? Are we still laughing?

We live in a culture that likes to pick and choose what they want in their God. In a world of Build-A-Bear, customizable Nike kicks, and Coldstone Creameries, we are used to getting exactly what we want and avoiding any of that other 'junk' that doesn't fit us.

So the idea of a loving, faithful, and righteous God is a tolerable idea...but a merciful, harsh God who will come back for judgement? Oooh, that doesn't settle well. We are used to getting what pleases us, but not necessarily what we deserve or what we are in need of. God gives us exactly what we need. Nothing more. and nothing less.

God is a perfect, loving, and selfless being who created you and me in his image. He is also merciful, just, and harsh for the sake of his children. We have to take the good with the bad, and trust that the loving, kind God that we like to think of has our backs during the 'junk'.