Practical Jokes—How Funny Are They?
A WORKMAN was busy at his job, suspended outside a hotel window high up on the 11th floor. Of course, he was properly secured with a safety belt. He called to a friend inside the hotel to come into the room where he was. Upon entering the room and looking out the window, the friend saw a horrifying sight. The safety belt came unfastened, and with a scream, the workman disappeared from view.
A ghastly tragedy? No, a practical joke. There was a wide ledge just beneath the place where the workman was suspended, and cushions had been put there so that he could “fall” on that ledge without hurting himself. Funny? Not to the one who thought he had just seen someone hurtle 11 floors to his death.
One Saturday morning a man went back to the machine shop where he worked to put his tools away. He was going to a wedding that afternoon and was dressed in his best suit. His workmates knew he was coming. So, for a laugh, they waylaid him and threw him into the shower, suit and all. Another practical joke, but was it funny? Not to the man whose suit was ruined.
The Bible speaks about practical jokes. It says: “Just like someone mad that is shooting fiery missiles, arrows and death, so is the man that has tricked his fellowman and has said: ‘Was I not having fun?’” (Proverbs 26:18, 19) Yet practical jokes are not uncommon, even among Christians. Why? Perhaps because some feel that they make people laugh and inject a little fun into their life. Do you feel that way? If so, consider a few real-life experiences from the victim’s point of view.
When Things Go Wrong
Not long ago a prankster in a darkened movie house shouted “Fire!” There was panic, a stampede. Five people were killed and 50 injured.
A young husband went to work one morning but found the firm closed because of bad weather and returned home. His wife was in the shower when she heard him return. Suspecting a burglar, she wrapped herself in a towel, took a gun and went to investigate. The husband, wanting to play a practical joke, hid. When she approached, he jumped out shouting “Boo!” His terrified wife shot him.
True, not all practical jokes end in tragedy. But any joke can go wrong, as Fred discovered. He planned to borrow a small motorcycle on his vacation. So he had to adjust his driving license. This involved taking a written and a practical test. Afterward, he waited for the results. Soon a letter arrived—telling him in emphatic and uncomplimentary terms that he had failed.
Fred was dejected. He had worked hard, and now some of his vacation plans were ruined. He was also frustrated, since he knew he had done quite well in the tests. And he was irritated with the authorities because their letter was so unkind. Later, a close friend, seeing him downcast, revealed that the letter was a forgery. The friend had written it himself! He thought that Fred would immediately see that it was just a joke. But Fred had not. Instead, he had a frustrating experience that was not funny at all.
Ron was another victim. One Sunday morning he received a telephone call inviting him to address a local church group. Given time to consider the invitation, he rearranged his schedule, discussed the invitation with others and did research on what to say. When he phoned back to accept, he found that the invitation was a practical joke—played on him by someone he had never met, since he was new in the area.
Ron’s reaction? “I felt frustrated that my time and energy had been wasted,” he said. “I felt keenly that the ‘joke’ was irresponsible and unkind. I also felt embarrassed that I had wasted other people’s time on an imaginary project. And I determined to be careful in the future in my dealings with the prankster.”
Does this mean that Ron and Fred take themselves too seriously, or that they cannot take a joke? What do you think? Do you enjoy being deceived? Should a busy person view it lightly when his and other people’s time has been wasted irresponsibly? Can you see any humor in being depressed and disappointed, even if only for a few hours? Or what if one of your relatives had been killed or injured in that movie-house stampede? Surely, such practical jokes violate the important command: “Just as you want men to do to you, do the same way to them.”—Luke 6:31.
You may say, ‘But those jokes just got out of hand.’ That is true. But Al, who works with a group of lively young people, says that practical jokes often do get out of hand. He mentions how some youths hazing a newcomer to the job badly bruised his breastbone, so that he had difficulty breathing for a while and had to miss some days of work. Others used spray bottles to douse one another with water, resulting in eye irritations. They had forgotten that those bottles had previously contained chemicals. “Practical jokes are just not worth the trouble,” says Al. “Where I work, most people are considerate enough not to play them anymore.”
Why Do People Play Practical Jokes?
There are many answers to this question. Some people have an overdeveloped or even distorted sense of fun and find it difficult to restrain themselves. Fred does not feel that the joke on him came from any bad motive. His friend was simply out for a bit of fun. Ron feels that the prankster who victimized him “was just trying to liven things up a bit.” And Al sees practical jokes as an expression of youthful exuberance.
Al also mentions another factor: competitiveness. “Somebody starts something,” he says, “and his victim has to get back at him at all costs. Then everyone gets excited, and things get out of hand. For example, someone might squirt a little water at a friend. To get back at him, the friend has to empty a bucket of water over the prankster. Then the prankster, to stay even, has to push his victim, fully clothed, into a swimming pool!”
Stan, who used to be a carpenter, remembers how one of his fellow workers who was quite naive became a natural target for practical jokes. Two workmates particularly enjoyed playing them on him. Why? Stan can think of two possible reasons. “It may be because he was very naive and it was an easy way to get a laugh,” he says. “Or it may be they were trying to make him more sophisticated.”
If the latter was their motive, did it succeed? “No,” says Stan. “He became nervous and suspicious of everyone. It had a very negative effect on his personality, as well as having an unhealthy effect on the other workers.”
Remember the words of the apostle Paul: “As long as we have time favorable for it, let us work what is good toward all, but especially toward those related to us in the faith.” (Galatians 6:10) Do practical jokers follow this counsel? Hardly.
Can We Get a Better Viewpoint?
Humor in the right place is fine. The world would be a dull place without it. A joking remark can ease tension or help to dispel nervousness. Joking with people, even gently teasing them, can be a sign of affection. But humor can also wound. When teasing calls attention to someone’s weaknesses or failings, it is spiteful. Moreover, practical jokes that leave people confused, humiliated, deceived, scared, suspicious of others or embarrassed—even if only for a short time—are clearly unkind. The same can be said of practical jokes that damage another’s clothing or other possessions, or that greatly inconvenience the other person by stealing valuable time or that hinder or delay a person in carrying on some planned activity. And the Bible says: “Become kind to one another.”—Ephesians 4:32.
A joker may protest: ‘But I don’t mind having jokes played on me. Why should others mind when I play jokes on them?’ Well, it is true that we should all be able to laugh at ourselves sometimes. And we should find pleasure in laughing with one another. But to laugh at someone because he has been put into an embarrassing position is unchristian. Besides, we can never be sure in advance how our victim will feel. One man played a little joke on the girls he worked with. The first few took it quite well and laughed with him. The last one, who was not feeling too well, took it badly. She was angry and hurt, and the joke was not funny anymore.
Remember, the Bible encourages us to show “fellow feeling, having brotherly affection, tenderly compassionate, humble in mind.” (1 Peter 3:8) Even if you do not mind being the butt of practical jokes yourself, most would prefer not to be. “Fellow feeling” will help you to consider their feelings. The fact that you may enjoy playing practical jokes does not make it right. Being “humble in mind” will help you to realize that. And ‘tender compassion’ will surely prevent you from wanting to victimize your fellow human.
If others around you play practical jokes, it may take moral courage to refuse to get involved. If someone plays a joke on you, it may take self-control not to retaliate. (Galatians 5:22, 23) And if someone is a habitual prankster, it may be wise just to avoid his company. Others might say you take things too seriously. But all too often, practical jokes become serious.
Fred, the victim of the forged letter, learned his own lesson about practical jokes some years ago. He visited a married couple he knew well, and since the wife was still out, he hid from her in the bedroom. When the wife came home, she looked around for him, suspecting he was there. Not finding him, she went into the bedroom. She was standing in front of a dresser when Fred reached out from under the bed and grabbed her ankle. She screamed and stood there petrified. She was so frightened that Fred himself was scared. “I learned my lesson,” he said. “I will never play that kind of joke again.”
What a wise decision! It is a decision that everyone with consideration and concern for his fellowman would do well to make.
[Blurb on page 13]
Laughing with others is fine. Laughing at them can be very unkind
[Blurb on page 14]
How Christian is it to humiliate, scare or embarrass others, so that you can laugh at them?
[Blurb on page 15]
Experience shows that practical jokes often get out of hand