Christian Jokes (?)

There is no shortage of social media pages by well-meaning Christians who just wanna share some good, clean jokes. In light of all the negativity in the world, I think it’s a great idea! I’ve even enjoyed many memes based on biblical narrative, such as two dinosaurs looking at Noah’s ark and saying, “Oh, was that today?” Another meme that made me giggle was a picture of a man reluctant to jump into the pool until Moses and his sea-parting staff had walked away. I don’t care who you are…this is good stuff. But what happens when a meme crosses a line?

Just today, a group of clean-joke Christians (of which I used to be a member) posted an AI-generated image of Jesus flipping over tables in the temple. We know this story from Matthew 21:12-13 which reads: “And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.” (English Standard Version) Now, you may be asking yourself why such an image of Jesus’ righteous anger would be worthy of a silly meme. Well, it’s not…unless you show Jesus literally flipping over tables, sandals soaring in mid-air ready to perform a 10 out of 10 dismount. Yes, this was posted to a page of believers.

Not expecting to see such an irreverent image of the One who sacrificed Himself for me, I decided to speak the truth in love and comment in the group. All I said was that our Lord should be treated with more reverence and less ridicule. He did create the world, after all. Replies to my comment were swift – some in complete agreement, and some with laughing emojis. “This is just a joke!” “Lighten up!” “God gave us a sense of humor!” were the mature and well-tailored responses I received from my fellow believers. My favorite one, though, was “Why would you join a Christian joke group if you can’t take a joke?” (sigh)

My question to you all is: Do memes like this cross the line between good clean humor and unholy irreverence? Before you answer, consider where you are on the spectrum of spiritual maturity. And yes, it is a spectrum.

It may not surprise you that the more flippant comments came from a well-meaning young lady, maybe in her early 20’s. I feel nothing but love for her because guess what…I was just like her at that age – trained in the Word, but spiritually immature. Not only that, but I was out of control for lack of good spiritual habits such as prayer, fasting, discipleship, engagement with like-minded believers, and bible study. I was born, baptized, and confirmed in the Lutheran Church…but it didn’t stick. And herein lies the problem in the Western church – we learn about God, but don’t walk with God. If we could just start walking with God, the spiritual disciplines He calls us to practice will mature us spiritually and change us from the inside out.

I have so much more I’d like to share, but I will have to continue in coming posts. For now, ask yourself these questions and take time to pray on them: (1) Do memes that make Jesus look silly delight or disturb you? (2) Is the animated South Park Jesus, or the cinematic “Buddy Jesus” from Dogma the One you know and love? (3) How do you feel about Jesus?