Ephesians 5:3-4

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.

Most of the sins in this list are obvious, and most believers not only frown upon them, but they go out of their way to avoid them.  There are a couple of these sins, however, that believers participate in and overlook them because they are not the "major sins", so we feel like we can get away with them.  

Paul calls out those who would engage in "foolish talking" and "jesting".  Many times, conversations can take a dark turn quickly.  Gossip easily rises up on the tongue, untruths are quickly told on purpose or by accident, and before we know it, there is a sin that needs to be confessed.  If there is an issue with the tongue, the deeper issue is the heart.  James 1:27 says, "If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain."  We can be the most pious among brethren, but if our mouth is out of control, our heart is being deceived.  What comes out of the mouth originates in the heart.  Solomon said so in Proverbs 4:23, "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." We must protect our hearts from taking in sinful things, so that sinful things do not come out of our mouths.

"Jesting" or joking is another issue.  While sometimes appropriate, over the course of a long period of time, joking can become dark and revealing of the sinfulness of one's heart.  I remember as a young believer, I liked to hear stand up comedians tell jokes for 30 minutes to an hour.  As I grew in the LORD, I remember noticing how the jokes started off as pretty innocuous, but as the time passed and the person kept talking, the jokes would become more and more inappropriate. Why?  Because that person had to dig deeper to get the same level of response from his or her audience.  The same is true for us as individuals and groups.  We must dig deeper to hold the same level of attention, and when we dig deeper, we have to dig "dirtier".  The jokes or the gossip or whatever we are doing has to become more salacious to our hearers. Eventually we will fully embarrass ourselves and dishonor the Name of the LORD.

This is commonplace in churches today.  It seems that fewer and fewer gatherings are centered fully on God's Word, and more and more gatherings are focused on felt needs.  The church is more concerned with how much entertainment can be provided to draw the crowds.  Once we draw the crowd, we have a good laugh and go home.  My question is simply this: what about that lost soul who enjoyed himself or herself, but left without hearing that Jesus died for his or her sins?

Please do not hear what I'm not saying.  I know that sometimes a bible teacher will say something funny in the middle of his sermon or his teaching.  I am not referring to that. There is nothing wrong with a funny anecdote here and there. I am referring to church gatherings where God's Word is not top priority, but the priority is making sure that the audience is well entertained. I think this is a dangerous path that the church has taken, and I believe that God will judge the church for it.

We have so much to be thankful for when we gather as a body that we really do not have time for the foolishness that the world does.  When we gather at His house, let's have Him on our minds.  Let's focus on spiritual growth and learning more about Him and encouraging our brothers and sisters in the Word and praying for each other and being a strong body built on the foundation that the Father gave us: the LORD Jesus Christ.