The Holy Scriptures invite us to be joyous in Christ: "Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say rejoice." But we, the human beings, are superficial when we see how the members of a religious community talk with enthusiasm about Christ, how their faces are smiling and happy, we rush to conclude that in that community the spirit of Christ is indisputably present.

We forget that a sinful heart can also be happy and because of our superficiality we do not go into the question of difference between his joy and the joy of a devoted heart.

There is difference between holy joy and humor. The characteristic of humor compared with holy joy is frivolity.

If we tell humorous people that they are not serious they will say: What is wrong with that? We should be happy! They can't understand that a man keeps his seriousness and dignity in the holy joy. "Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling." (Psalm 2:11)

A devoted heart is joyous for the revelation of God's love, goodness and righteousness.

"I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches." (Psalm 119:14)

All that is created by God gives a motive to a man for joy and admiration because creation reveals the Creator's character. Harmony and beauty of nature, God's Word-the Bible and the lives of the saints are an inexhaustible source of the holy joy. In the unholy joy (frivolity) a man rejoices for the desecration and distortion of those things God created.

NATURE OF UNSACRED JOY

The nature of unsacred happiness is contained in different forms of psychological release. Somebody is released psychologically by beating himself, somebody by listening to rhythmical music, somebody by making jokes and fun or in some other more subtle ways.

The sinner looks for the occasion for his psychological release in an external discord that is going to provoke him to show his own internal discord (very old unhappiness) with his whole soul. Let's see, for example, the content of one joke, or caricatures. They contain perversion and sin. Without perversion they would seem very boring to an sinful heart. A kind of discord gives an opportunity to a man to live in "psychological relaxation" , which is expressed through pleasant feelings (unholy happiness).

Some consider that it is healthy to laugh with such kind of joy which is the expression of psychological emptying. We can notice that it is all the same healthy as much as it is for the sick man healthy to cough. Coughing is healthy, but it reveals that man is sick. None will be healed if he is forbidden to cough, but if he is healthy, man is not going to cough anymore. Say in another way, man who is spiritually unburdened - will not have the need to be psychologically unburdened. He does not have the need to psychologically release himself when he is not psychologically tense. That's why the Bible phenomenon of psychological release through laughter gives credit to the deranged person:

"For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool: this also is vanity." (Ecclesiastics 7:6)

Notions like holy humor or holy joke - does not exist!

Frivolity removes from the human mind opportunities for expressing of holy happiness. In such a spiritual condition man is not in good mood for it. Prayer and studying Bible, thinking about the holy scenes to this kind of mind seem unacceptable and like a burden.

Unholy conclusions do not deserve to be thought about. If dedicated by Holy Spirit, human heart is going to find always and everywhere an opportunity to express holy happiness. In order that the spirit of unholy happiness should not poison our mind and suffocate our readiness to rejoice at beauty of God's character, God's Word warns us:

"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. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience." (Ephesians 5:3-6)

"Folly is joy to him that is destitute of wisdom: but a man of understanding walketh uprightly." (Proverbs 15:22)

Are there motives for humor, jokes and frivolity in the Heaven?

The atmosphere of Heaven is the atmosphere of holy happiness. There, everything is perfect, there is no discord and reasonfor unholy happiness (frivolity).

ROLE OF UNHOLY HAPPINESS

"One who laughs a lot, people do not trust to." (A Serbian proverb)

The spirit of unholy happiness helps a sinner to eliminate unpleasant result of his sin, the feeling of responsibility (the guilt). So man's tendency for unholy happiness, besides the indifference of his heart toward holy things, discovers impure conscience too.

Someone who, by his words or actions consciously made sin, will try to explain his behavior declaring "I was joking", or "I was not serious". And what does it show? Man was not serious, i.e. he was irresponsible to admit the seriousness and responsibility for what he was doing and in the same time he was asking people not to take it for sin. Of course, by suffocating conscience about responsibility, man does not eliminate his responsibility.

As we se, it does not matter if a man jokes about his or somebody else's weaknesses. Sin is sin no matter in what course it is expressed.

Person who laughs at himself because of his sins shows that he does not regret for the cause (the very motive) of his sinning. He is going to continue to sin because the real repentance asks for the admission of the sin and the admission of guilt because of that sin.

God's word judges a man's try to legalize sinful actions by covering them with veil of frivolity.

"Fools mock at making amends for sin, ..." (Proverbs 14:9)

During the evangelistic sermon, God makes a sinner certain of how deep his spiritual needs are. The man understands that he cannot stand anymore before the heavenly Father in dirty clothes of his own character. The sin is so heavy violation that somebody, for the sinner's salvation, gave his soul to death.

"Should I, because of superficiality, scorn so deep love, so big sacrifice?" asked himself someone who understands even a bit of Bible's gift. God's Word says:

"Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." (Philippians 2:13)

You could imagine how dangerous it is to put the frivolous atmosphere in the sermon (unholy happiness). The sinner is lulled in the false surety instead to give up himself. Instead of spiritual salvation he experiences psychological relaxation.

Usually at the beginning of a sermon a speaker says an anecdote, like as if he wants to say:

"Don't worry! I am not going to explain God's word to you in a way you would ask yourselves: What should I do to be saved? And I am not going to speak to you about Christ the way that His purity and holiness make you aware of your own dirtiness. My sermon is not going to make you morally responsible. Even more, I am going to entertain you!"

Telling jokes is not necessary for making frivolous atmosphere. It is enough to put on certain kind of music. Believers are given music with spiritual message but with inadequate melody and rhythm (like pop and rock music). This music provokes the feelings which suffocate man's awareness of the need for Redeemer.

Under the Satanic inspiration the speaker can create unholy and frivolous atmosphere of the sermon with special movements, "speech" of his body, by using unholy sentences in his vocabulary or in different ways.

Only one person inspired by unholy happiness can damage work of whole group (Ecclesiastes 9:18; Galatians 5:7-10).

God's Word address a warning to all people who think that are believers:

"Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets." (Luke 6:26)

A devoted life of Christian, his humbleness, his kindness and goodness are the reprimand for his undevoted environment. That is why real Christians are not popular in the world.

The fruits of religious fanaticism also contain actions which have the form of love and goodness. However, Satan will not allow his followers to be a light for this world, and to reprimand the world for godlessness and immorality. To erase this reprimand Satan inspires his "Christian" with the spirit of unholy happiness which is filling his behavior and his whole life. Through such distorted human behavior God's character cannot be revealed. We see that the work of the Holy Spirit has been suppressed by the fact that in company with this person, the wicked one is not reprimanded for the sin, but he feels self-content. He finds approval and peace for his own conscience.

"A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned." (Matthew 12:35-37)