Chapter 46—Anecdotes and Humor
Levity Inappropriate—The minister of God is not to speak words
which will create levity. We have been bought with the price of a great
sacrifice, even the sacrifice of God’s only begotten Son.—
Manuscript
19, 1910
.
No Light, Trifling Words—The minister of the gospel who is a
laborer together with God, will learn daily in the school of Christ....No
light, trifling words will fall from his lips; for is he not an ambassador
for Christ, bearing a divine message to perishing souls? All jesting
and joking, all lightness and trifling, is painful to the cross-bearing
disciple of Christ.—
Evangelism, 206, 207
.
Conversation in Heaven—All lightness and trifling is positively
forbidden in the Word of God. His conversation should be in heaven,
his words seasoned with grace.—
Testimonies for the Church 2:338
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A Worthy Example for Youth—Ministers should set the youth
a worthy example, one corresponding to their holy calling.... They
are to put away all coarseness, all trifling, ever remembering that they
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are educators; that, whether they will or not, their words and acts
are to those with whom they come in contact a savor of life or of
death.—
Gospel Workers, 126
.
Decorum in the Sacred Desk—What can the minister do without
Jesus? Verily, nothing. Then if he is a frivolous, joking man, he is not
prepared to perform the duty laid upon him by the Lord. “Without
Me,” says Christ, “ye can do nothing.” The flippant words that fall
from his lips, the trifling anecdotes, the words spoken to create a laugh,
are all condemned by the Word of God, and are entirely out of place in
the sacred desk.—
Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 142
.
No Slang Phrases—The minister should be free from every un-
necessary temporal perplexity, that he may give himself wholly to
his sacred calling. He should be much in prayer, and should bring
himself under discipline to God, that his life may reveal the fruits of
true self-control. His language should be correct; no slang phrases, no
cheap utterances, should fall from his lips.—
Gospel Workers, 145
.
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