One of the sayings we use at Alive Church a lot is: “we don’t take ourselves too serious, but we take God very serious.”  It’s good to be able to laugh at yourself. Nobody likes to be around people who take themselves so serious that they can’t laugh at themselves and we all have plenty to laugh about!

Paul gives us insight into this topic and how it is a character issue. “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.” (Romans 5:3-5NLT)

God sees more in you than you could possibly see in yourself—and He is working to perfect you so He can continue developing you as His masterpiece. Paul said we can rejoice when we run into troubles and trials because God is working toward an end result. You choose whether or not to rejoice and be grateful for all that God is doing. An ungrateful heart may cause you to miss all He is doing to develop your character. That would be unfortunate.

It’s one of the things I love about our staff – we have so much fun together – yet we take the mission and vision of Alive very seriously. Don’t believe it – watch the video of outtakes I posted in this blog from some staff recordings.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=VSKP0FvyrSk

Quit taking yourself so serious and begin taking God very serious. Laugh a little today – at yourself, let God develop your character by rejoicing. God is in control regardless of what you are going through – He is a good God.

(Adapted from my book Life Palette, chapter 8 The Good, Bad and Ugly)