And when we take ourselves too seriously, we are grim about the brothers and sisters, especially the dissenting ones, and there will be no health in us and no healing humor.
Interpretation
Taking ourselves too seriously harms our relationships and diminishes joy.
This quote by Walter Brueggemann emphasizes the importance of not taking oneself too seriously, as it can create a grim atmosphere that negatively impacts our relationships, particularly with those who may disagree with us. By fostering a sense of humility and humor, we open the door to healing and maintaining healthier connections with others, which is crucial for our well-being.
In practice
In a team meeting to lighten the mood, one could say, 'Remember, when we take ourselves too seriously, we risk missing the joy of collaboration.'
People notice peacemakers because they dress funny. We know how the people who make war dress - in uniforms and medals, or in computers and clipboards, or in absoluteness, severity, greed, and cynicism. But the peacemaker is dressed in righteousness, justice, and faithfulness - dressed for the work that is to be done.
The task of prophetic ministry is to nurture, nourish, and evoke a consciousness and perception alternative to the consciousness and perception of the dominant culture around us.
Imagination is a danger thus every totalitarian regime is frightened of the artist. It is the vocation of the prophet to keep alive the ministry of imagination to keep on conjouring and proposing alternative futures to the single one the king wants to urge as the only thinkable one.
The power of the future lies not in the hands of those who believe in scarcity but of those who trust God's abundance.
Humor is a means of obtaining pleasure in spite of the distressing effects that interface with it.
Firefly: Where is your husband? Mrs. Teasdale: Why, he's dead. Firefly: I'll bet he's just using that as an excuse. Mrs. Teasdale: I was with him to the very end. Firefly: Hmmph. No wonder he passed away. Mrs. Teasdale: I held him in my arms and kissed him. Firefly: Oh I see. Then, it was murder.
Well, the most terrible fear that anybody should have is not war, is not a disease, not cancer or heart problems or food poisoning - it's a man or a woman without a sense of humor.
Don't judge your taco by its price
He who has provoked the lash of wit, cannot complain that he smarts from it.
I was in analysis. I was suicidal. As a matter of fact, I would have killed myself, but I was in analysis with a strict Freudian and if you kill yourself they make you pay for the sessions you miss.
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