4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
the Lord scoffs at them.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.
The psalmist declares that God himself sits in the heavens and laughs, and the writer of Proverbs describes the “woman of strength” as one who can “laugh at” times to come. Life can become taxing at times, and moments come when we desperately need a change. Laughter is one way the Creator gave us to switch gears and punctuate monotony with joy. Humor is an exit from the mundane “road of life.” Laughter is a simple yet reasonable prescription for some of life’s ills. Humor defuses tension and helps put one at ease.
With so much tragedy in life, choosing humor instead of despair is good Scriptural advice. Humor generally involves an acceptance of the ups and downs of life and the determination not to take ourselves too seriously. To combat stress, to relieve tension and even to provide delightful diversion in the midst of trials and sufferings, laughter and a keen sense of humor may prove to be precious possessions.
15 Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. 16 They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are. 17 Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax[a] to Caesar or not?”
18 But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? 19 Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, 20 and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”
21 “Caesar’s,” they replied.
Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
22 When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.
Jesus himself was unpredictable and witty and full of life in his responses. He used irony, word play and hyperbole to get across his messages in which Jesus cleverly eludes the trap of the Pharisees and unmasks their hypocrisy.
Jesus asks a Pharisee for a coin with an image of Caesar and an inscription proclaiming Caesar to be god, knowing that to carry such a coin was breaking two commandments.
3 “You shall have no other gods before me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.
At the end of life’s road, we may all end up in the same place, but because of laughter along the way, some will have enjoyed the journey.
