I am one of those who analyze every little thing, and I was curious to see if the Bible talked about joking around with one another. I didn't see anything on the subject in my concordance. I want to find some scriptures, because sometimes I feel we are joking around too much and should get more serious. Do you have any ideas on what to study out? -- John

Sure, some joking is ruled out for the disciple (coarse speech, Ephesians 4), but I think maybe you are overanalyzing! There is much in the Bible about encouraging one another: humor makes this a more attainable goal. In addition, there are many biblical passages and situations that are humorous in the extreme. Much has been written about this--books like The Humor of Jesus. Certainly laying all seriousness aside is a serious problem-- but so is its opposite, being so uptight that we never enjoy our salvation. If you want to do a more thorough study on what we should say to one another, one of the best books is Proverbs, which has dozens of passages on wise and foolish uses of the tongue. I suggest you begin there.

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