Silly But Not Funny

                                                —by Chris Stinnett

 

One of my favorite things in life is a good laugh. And one of the things most likely to give me a good laugh is a collection of stupid things that people say. After all, as much as I talk, I must be guilty of saying stupid things from time to time! Some time ago, I read a book called The 776 Stupidest Things Ever Said, and it gave me quite a few laughs. All the famous ones are listed here, like Yogi Berra and Samuel Goldwyn. Who could forget Goldwyn’s “If I drop dead right now, I’d be the happiest man alive,” or Berra’s “A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore”?

I suppose all governments are full of the silliest sayings. One Irish politician, Sir Boyle Roche, was extensively quoted. Among other jewels, he wrote, “While I write this letter, I have a pistol in one hand and a sword in the other.” An actual law on the books in Kansas reads, “When two trains approach each other at a crossing, they shall both come to a full stop and neither shall start up until the other has gone.”

These kinds of sayings give us a good laugh because they defy logic but are usually harmless (although I’d watch out for Sir Boyle’s weapons!). We run into other sayings, though, as we talk to people about the gospel of Jesus. Some of these are also empty of thought, but they are very harmful because people accept them as if they made good sense.

One of the sayings that I’ve heard from time to time is, “A loving God won’t send me to Hell.” There is actually a new book on the market that makes this point. The person who says this is very confused. He thinks he means that God won’t want to abandon him to Hell, and in this he is right. But he also thinks that God will only do what He desires to do, and in this he is dead wrong. There is at least one thing that God will do that He has no desire to do—He will allow man to suffer the consequences of his own  disobedience.

“But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death” (Revelation 21:8 NIV).

It has never been God’s desire that man spend eternity in Hell. He created man to be with Him in Heaven after a short life on this earth. If a man will not obey God, though, there is no other place after this life is over than the Hell which was created for the devil and his angels. This is not a pleasant thought, and it is not a subject for humor. The eternal destiny of a human soul is a subject for serious thinking and lasting joy when that soul is saved by Christ’s blood. When the most important matter of life is successfully placed in God’s hands, then we can relax and laugh at the silliest of things that we sometimes say. Until that time, though, some sayings are silly but not at all funny.