God has a sense of humor. We are created in His image, meaning that we share His nature and essence. We have a sense of humor as humans. That is why we laugh at the things that intrigue us. That is why we want to frolic and have a good time. If we have a sense of humor, then it is only logical that God has a sense of humor. God has time to laugh, frolic, and chill—even as a God. It is not an ordinary sense of humor, but He has the most incredible mood on earth.

“There is hope for the future because God has a sense of humor, and we are funny to God.” — Bill Cosby.

Some funny people have walked this earth, and many still do. Charlie Chaplin, Richard Pryor, George Carlin, Robin Williams, Bill Hicks, Rodney Dangerfield, Don Rickles, Joan Rivers, Redd Foxx, Sam Loco Efeeimwonkiyeke, to mention but a few, made our ribs crack laughing. There are many names out there that keep us laughing today. Comedians like Eddie Murphy, Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, Jerry Seinfeld, Bill Cosby, Kevin Hart, Whoopi Goldberg, Jim Carrey, Tiffany Haddish, Nkem “Osuofia” Owoh, etc. will keep you laughing. To the point of peeing on yourself and even cutting the cheese. 

God has a funny bone too. Yes, He is to be feared,¹ respected,² and revered.³ All the above facts are correct. However, all the faces of God are not all serious at every single moment. He is funny. He has a great sense of humor and wants to build a relationship with everyone. He is loving and patient. He is persistent in seeking your acceptance. However, if you keep refusing His love, His truce, His mercy, His gift of life4—then you must brace yourself to become the object of His laughter and mockery. That is not a side you may want to be on.

King Solomon paints a great allegorical picture to show how God will act when all who refuse Him come to the end of their ropes. He will have a comedy ball laughing. In his book, the Proverbs of Solomon, he establishes that God will say to those that defy Him— “I tried to help, but you refused to listen. I offered my hand, but you turned away from me. You ignored my advice and refused to be corrected. So, I will laugh at your troubles and make fun of you when what you fear happens. Disasters will strike you like a storm. Problems will pound you like a strong wind. Trouble and misery will weigh you down.”⁵Sounds mean, right? Nah, not really. He gives everyone a long rope to get it right. Sorry for you in you meet this side of God.

“Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humor is just common sense, dancing.” — William James.

“Okay, okay…enough of the serious chat. So, how do you want me—the reader—to believe that God has a fabulous sense of humor?” Stay with me now, as we see God’s sense of humor through His creations.

God Shows His Sense of Humor through His Creations 

Believe me or not, God indeed reveals His sense of humor through the creatures He has made. First, I totally agree with the comedian, Carlos Mencia, who said that “God has a sense of humor. If you don’t believe me, tomorrow go to Wal-Mart and just look at people.” The YouTube meme video below, a song by SuperLuongtuan, shows a funny string of videos of weird-looking people that will make you gag with laughter. 

“God has a sense of humor. If you don’t believe me, tomorrow go to Wal-Mart and just look at people.” — Carlos Mencia.

Okay, we will look at God’s humor via His human creations at a later time. However, God reveals His sense of humor through the creatures or animals that He has made. When you observe some of God’s creatures and their mannerisms, you can only say that God has a sense of humor. Let us see God’s sense of humor in action through the animals He has made.

The Skunk

The skunk is living proof that God has a sense of humor. The skunk, an omnivorous cat-sized mammal, may look all cute and cuddly, but its scent is legendary and lingering. No matter how stinky the human flatulence can get, the skunk scent has no revival. Well, if someone farts and it smells like a skunk scent, then there is definitely a problem in Katanga. The person would need to be commuted to quarantine at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for further testing—he/she may be a walking disease, or literally, a human biological weapon.

So, why does the skunk smell so bad? Skunks smell so bad because of two nipple-like independently rotating squirters that flank the butt hole. When they feel threatened, they aim and spray accurately up to twenty feet, an oily liquid containing a substance called thiols with a sulfur component. And as you may know, sulfur smells like rotten eggs. The skunk smell is so potent that you can smell it half-mile away. Now, you can’t tell me that God does not have a sense of humor creating such a stinky animal.

The Dung Beetle

The dung beetle is another living proof that God has a sense of humor. The dung beetle is another God’s creation that shows that He has a sense of humor. What really must have been going on in His mind in creating the dung beetle? Well, He always has a masterplan, and I know that it is for a good reason, even if it looks like a funny proposition—a beetle that loves to locate poop and mold it into a ball for its sustenance and to the earth’s benefit. In this scenario, we can say that one man’s poop is another creature’s treasure, to say the very least.

““Ha na eri nsi”—they eat poop.” — Ogbonnaya Agom-Eze.

Now, the dung beetle does precisely what their names depict—they relish all manners and savors of poop. However, “Most prefer to feed on herbivore droppings; however, studies have shown that may be most attracted to omnivore excrement since it provides both nutritional value and the right amount of odor to make it easy to find.” To the dung beetle, poop is a five-star relish. Dung beetles are coprophagous insects. In the Igbo language, “Ha na eri nsi”—they eat poop. 

The dung beetle is on a sustainable mission to do a service with a strong bias for executing the requirements of its purpose. In the Smithsonian magazine article titled “All Praise The Humble Dung Beetle,” Richard Jones establishes that the dung beetle is on a mission. He said that “we can thank the 6,000 species of dung beetles that attend to excrement around the planet. These handsome, broad, powerful, chunky, glossy beetles assiduously burrow in the stuff, bury it, lay their eggs in it, eat it, and generally get rid of it before it creates a problem.” And you say that God does not have a sense of humor—He sure does.

While we are busy building sewers that carry away our slushy business, we may not immediately see the benefits of these dung beetles. God humorously has created these poop lovers to take care of excrement issues sustainably. For instance, Hungarian entomologist Gyorgy (‘George’) Bornemissza, upon noticing the disfiguring of Australian meadows with undecaying cow pats, suggested importing Eurasian and African dung beetles to deal with the matter. The move was a success as the grasslands have become rejuvenated–thanks to these imported poop lovers.

Dung beetles with their specialized antennae can catch the whiff of poop from the air as they fly. We may choose to laugh at the thought of dung beetles rolling poop. However, they are doing a lot of good to the earth. Right now, the earth is singing to all who are laughing at the dung beetle Janet Jackson’s song, “What have you done for me lately?” The dung beetle is also considered among the strongest creatures in the world. They can move dung forty-times their own body weight. For instance, “male Onthphagus taurus dung beetle, which pulled a load equivalent to 1,141 times its own body weight. How does this compare to human feats of strength? This would be like a 150-pound person pulling 80 tons.” The dung beetle shows us that God indeed has a sense of humor.

“The skunk and dung beetle are living proofs that God has a sense of humor.” — Ogbonnaya Agom-Eze.

The skunk and dung beetle are living proofs that God has a sense of humor. The list goes on with various creations that show that God has a great sense of humor. Writing about this topic gave me a good laugh concerning some of the findings that I made looking at the skunk’s life and the dung beetle. In the following title, “God has a Sense of Humor Part II,” we will continue to explore the funny side of God as He shows his most tremendous sense of humor yet. 

References

1. Psalm 86:11 – Easy-to-Read Version (ERV).
2. Proverbs 31:30 – Easy-to-Read Version (ERV).
3. Deuteronomy 10:12 – Easy-to-Read Version (ERV).
4. John 3:16 – Easy-to-Read Version (ERV).
5. Proverbs 1:24-27 – Easy-to-Read Version (ERV). 
6. SuperLuongtuan. (2011, November 16). People of Walmart music video. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyvrFcx9Ke3nHecurDTm65Q.