Walking with the Wise #490: Not a Joking Matter
“Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death
is the man who deceives his neighbor
and says, ‘I am only joking!’”
—Proverbs 26:18-19
is the man who deceives his neighbor
and says, ‘I am only joking!’”
—Proverbs 26:18-19
I like to joke around, but I’m not a huge fan of practical jokes, simply because I have seen too many things go wrong. When I was a kid, a friend of mine was duct-taped to a flagpole at Scout’s camp. His friends were joking around, left him there longer than was anticipated and it ended up melting into his skin. As a youth pastor, I’ve seen my fair share of practical jokes go wrong. I’ve seen practical jokes taken as personal attacks where the subject of the joke responded in anger and sometimes violence. The intent, of course, was for a laugh, even though it was at the expense of another. But the subject of the joke wasn’t laughing, nor were those around them.
Today’s proverb shows us that whenever you play a practical joke on someone you might be hurting him and, possibly, others around him. Having fun and joking around are ok, but pulling a practical joke may cause unintended harm much bigger than you could imagine—it's best to treat them as Jesus told us to—in the same way we want to be treated (Matthew 7:12).
Have fun, enjoy a laugh, but be discerning in the jokes you pull—the result could be harmful to more people than you thought. Amen.
I so appreciate this post. Joking and sarcasm are often used and well accepted, but can be very hurtful to the one to whom it is directed. If one has to say "just kidding" after making a statement that implies that there may be a word of truth or harm to what is being said. The Lord really had to convict me of my sarcasm as I was really good at it, as well as joking. He convicted me to realize that it is sin, as it is not building another up, nor do you know what is going on in a person's heart and how your sarcasm or joking could be very hurtful to where they are in their lives. I have even heard this from the pulpits of churches and many reputable pastors. Life is hard - lets do more to lift up and edify one another and encourage one another!
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