My Sense Of Humor And Fun

WED., OCT. 16, 1996, 8:44 AM
OFFICE, PULLIAM

It surely must be time for Me, the Holy Spirit of the Lord God, to reaffirm that I have a Super sense of fun and humor. As I’ve said often, you could not have such if I didn’t. Even if it were considered evil (which some of My extreme devotees have believed and proclaimed) it would still come from Me, ultimately. So what triggers this Teaching on this day?

First, of course is this Book of Daniel, the focus of your breakfast-study group at this time. You’re right… while there may be some prophetic portions of this story it is first and foremost a “ridiculous farce”. Now if you accept that fun is good, as I do, this is not a “downer” affirmation… not a castigation. Many very worthwhile stories, plays, movies, and TV programs are of this sort, and they are a blessed part of earth life.

Daniel, by his own description (even in 3rd person), is a clean-cut, bright, righteous young man. He and his three friends, captives in an enemy land, are chosen by the King for special services. This king, and those who follow him, are stereotypic egotists, with ranges of emotional reactions. Daniel and his buddies are true to their faith, and the king respects this… until some of his “B movie” advisors get him to proclaim in ways that entrap.

Somehow a statue of gold, 90 feet high and 9 feet wide suddenly appears and is erected. In a time of handwork, even with dutiful slaves, this is a comic event. The 3 stalwarts (Daniel not included this time… did he bow down or not?) won’t bow down, so they are cast into the fiery furnace, heated extra hot. They walk around inside with a protective, but mute, angel, and then come out unsinged. The king is impressed and lauds their God… but, naturally, true to character, he forgets.

Now Daniel won’t bow down when a weird band begins to play so the supposedly powerful king, hamstrung by the decree he was tricked into signing, must condemn Daniel to the lion’s den. (You might ask… what culture has both a fiery furnace and a lion’s den as alternative punishments for quietly defying a King’s egotistical decree?) He is thrown in, but he is so righteous that the lions ignore him… or even come up to be petted. The king is impressed, orders Daniel out, and then has his counselors, and their families, thrown in for the lions to devour. This could be a tragic scene, but it comes out comic, with the silly king apparently thinking, “How can I make this right with Daniel and his God?” Oh, kill a few folks! Black humor, certainly.

Then comes the next king, just as weird, and I have Daniel interpret his dream to mean that he will go nuts and graze in a grassy pasture for 7 years. Then he “comes to himself”, rewards Daniel, and is never heard of again. And then come the utterly ridiculous animals…

Am I still having fun? Assume that the proclamations about My power to select and install leaders of nations are true… truth in the midst of farce… isn’t that wonderful!? Yours is a culture that is massively in debt but also counts every legal expenditure as growth that will reduce that debt… or, at least, the yearly deficit… some year. Millions are being spent on this campaign to elect leaders… and this is considered almost as worthwhile as money spent on gambling or on prisons.