No Laughing Matter

Edwin Cooper was famous across America, yet almost no one knew his real name. Coming from a family of circus clowns, Cooper began performing before audiences when he was just nine years old. After a stint with the Barnum and Bailey Circus, he became a fixture on television in the 1950s as Bozo the Clown. In addition to entertaining both young and old, Cooper had a message for his “buddies and partners” every week: get checked for cancer. Yet Cooper was so busy working that he neglected to follow his own advice. By the time his cancer was discovered, it was too late for it to be treated. Edwin Cooper died at just forty-one years of age from a disease he had warned many others to watch out for.

Sin is far more deadly than the most aggressive and fast growing cancer. Sin kills and destroys everything it touches. From the Fall of Adam in the Garden of Eden until now, sin takes no prisoners. This is the purpose behind everything Satan does. Jesus said, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy” (John 10:10). Because of his evil nature and his hatred of everything good, the devil brings destruction to everything within his reach.

When we regard sin as God does, we find nothing amusing or humorous about it. We will not make it the subject of the jokes we tell or those we hear. We will not allow ourselves to be tempted to get a little closer to the line to see if we are still safe. God hates sin with a holy and righteous fury, and so should we. When we find ourselves amused by sin, it is time for us to focus on the cross. Seeing the price paid for our sin reminds us that it is no laughing matter.