Gospel of Mark Ch. 7 and Ephesians Ch. 5

"But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;

"Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.

"For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God."

1 Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem.

2 And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault.

3 For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders.

4 And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables.

5 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands?

6 He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.

7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.

9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.

10 For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death:

11 But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free.

13 Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.

14 And when he had called all the people unto him, he said unto them, Hearken unto me every one of you, and understand:

15 There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man.

17 And when he was entered into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable.

18 And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him;

19 Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats?

21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,

22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:

24 And from thence he arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know it: but he could not be hid.

25 For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet:

26 The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter.

27 But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.

28 And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs.

29 And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter.

30 And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed.

31 And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis.

32 And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him.

33 And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue;

34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened.

35 And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain.

36 And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it;

37 And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.

2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.

3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;

4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.

5 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.

7 Be not ye therefore partakers with them. 8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:

11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.

12 For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.

13 But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.

14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.

18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;

19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.

24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.

25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.

29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:

31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.

33 Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.

Certainly Paul, led by the Holy Spirit, has dirty joles in mind. But there is a wide variety impure speech he’s exposing in pointing to “filthiness” and “foolish talking” besides what’s translated as “jesting” here in the KJV. A lot of joking that isn’t sexual is nevertheless ungodly, and so is displeasing to the Lord.

For example, in three different churches I’ve been part of over the years, the pastors made jokes about “ugly women” from the pulpit. I tried to “speak the truth in love” to one after the service. He responded with, “But it was a joke,” as if to say, “you know today’s pastors include a bit of stand-up in our messages. It’s just entertainment.” He did, though, apologize insincerely after I mentioned to him that such joking would likely spiritual harm some people in the congregation, especially young people who have been bullied for their looks outside the church service.

Sadly, a good portion of the church today often resembles the world much more than Christ. The world will ignore God’s will and say they don’t see the harm in something, if it even trivially pleases them. These three pastors, it was clear from the context, devised these jokes beforehand. And in choosing to tell them, they ignored so much that God has told us in His Word about what pleases Him and what displeases Him.

I can’t always quickly respond to people’s comments but try to when I can. And I wrote more than I thought I would here, but the Lord led me to.

First, it’s pretty apparent that there’s a great amount of outright lying on important matters going on today in our world.

With that thought in mind, then, I’ll start by drawing attention to a truth here. I did not say that all humor is displeasing to the Lord - - just a lot of it today. He endowed us with a sense of humor, and it would be ungodly never to use it or to call its use “sin” in all cases. I often repost funny cartoons and animal videos on my Facebook timeliness - - such as, for instance, the cartoon you have on your About page with the cat ending the world. I also make up jokes sometimes in real life if the Lord brings something humorous to my attention.

That said, a lot of joking today isn’t godly and is displeasing to Him. And the world today, including much of the church, embraces it anyway. The dominant thinking about humor today is that “it’s all good,” or nearly so, and so long as it makes at least some people laugh, it is a sacred and holy thing. Much ungodly humor is accepted, even in the church, if it can be justified by what you mentioned - - “it lifts people’s spirits.”

A great many people today would similarly say that there’s nothing wrong with dirty jokes among adults, and that they just lift the spirit as well. After all, “Where’s the harm?” Jokes are just ideas in the imagination! Nothing more, that thinking goes.

Despite the Lord making me very intelligent and educated, I’ve been low-income and sometimes even homeless. As such, most of the people around me are, while competent adults, nevertheless below average in intellect. Even when they profess faith in Christ, they’ll enthusiastically and uncritically embrace just about anything in entertainment if it’s carnally enjoyable. And they really do have mostly a warped, South Park lack of genuine conscience, and their laughter often sounds evil. While adults, and often parents, they are also like children in other ways due to being less intelligent. And they’ve been let down by the “more able” in our society, including the church, who often regard them as human trash.

The Lord’s ultimate concern is caring for the Body of Christ, His children. He seeks their good, and to protect them from harm. And His requirement for His children is that over time they develop and share that same concern. That brings the oneness He desires. And we, with limited knowledge, really don’t know much about who is and who isn’t part of Christ. Some who are sinners today repent tomorrow, while some professing believers aren’t genuine. The one who is a disgusting sinner today, but who will truly repent in the future and come to faith in Him, is beloved by the Lord today. And so the Lord wants us to have good will and concern for all as there’s a remnant there, among today’s unloveables, that He loves. So, sharing the Lord’s burden for the well-being of His family that we’re part of - - that should be our standard in all things.

When I was young, I used to live and identify as a lesbian. Under the Holy Spirit’s conviction, I repented. Given the many confusing voices today, I hadn’t thought it was sin. But I always feared the Lord, and eventually He made me see the truth. I saw the true happiness lay in following Him faithfully, and I also believed that overall rebellion against Him led to Hell.

On going to Hell for sexual immorality: Not me!

And I’ve turned away from worldliness and sought to do His will and please Him for the same reasons. I see that He’s Heavenly, and actual rebellion against Him leads to Hell, and on Hell, I say, again, Not me! I like comfortable. I don’t like uncomfortable. And I believe Him. So I’ve been willing to endure a lot in this world for the sake of my life in the next.

I won’t be casual about His Word. I’ve prayed to Him saying that I trust Him and He can do whatever it takes and whatever is His will for me, according to His manifold wisdom, for me to be what He wants me to be.

It makes no sense, ever, to say No to God. Yet, we’re human and in this world for now. So I will accept all the help He wants to give me to turn more of my Noes into Yeses.

And I have gone through a lot already for the sake of following Him, and He is my witness. I haven’t seen perfect, but I’ve contended for the faith and kept accepting His correction.

And along the way, through much trouble, He’s been with me, and I know all of my efforts have been seen and appreciated by Him even where He’s been the only one to recognize them, and will serve His Kingdom somehow although I never find out how in this life.

Not long after I came to faith as a young adult, I experienced His presence one night while praying the Lord’s prayer. That was before I even came to think of myself as a lesbian, but He showed me how it was sinful and destructive, and led me to repent.

And over the years, He’s spoken to me in many ways, but a couple of years ago He did audibly one night,like He never did before or since. I was just about to get to bed on my couch when out of nowhere, He said loudly and clearly, “Erika, the power is with you!” It was an internal voice, but much older than any memory or song in my head type thing.

And as if to underline it, the nexr morning I had a caseworker coming to my apartment, which I’d gotten through a homelessness agency. I was vacuuming beforehand when the power went out. I thought the vacuuming combined with AC might have done it, but the agency was supposed to have been paying the electric bill, but hadn’t thus far, so I had a shutoff notice for that week. I’d paid on the bill myself, but thought maybe I hadn’t paid enough.

But it turned out to have just been the vacuuming, and I was amazed how the Lord had arranged to speak to me the night before that little problem with the worldly power, His foreknowledge punctuating that He had spoken to me, and about *His* power. And actually, I thought I saw some of His humor in it, too.

So, though there can and likely will often be a worldly cost to pleasing the Lord, it’s never wasted, and though unbelief says the rewards for pleasing Him are only imaginary, they’re real. And nothing ultimately could be more real.

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