HOUSMAIL HM#063                                                                                                                               9 September 2000

We have all been guilty of this sometime ..... haven't we?

Practical jokes I mean! Especially those that embarrass their victims the most.

My wife found this proverb this morning. Makes you think ..... doesn't it?

Proverbs 26:19 RSV
Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death, is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, "I am only joking!"

What could possibly be so bad about a seemingly harmless practical joke?

Everybody usually enjoys them ever so much. (Well ..... ALMOST everybody, that is! The person on the receiving end seldom really enjoys the resulting embarrassment.)

The proverb quoted above tells us that God does have a view about them!

Firstly - GOD DOES NOT ENJOY THEM AT ALL!

And He labels those who find enjoyment in deceiving and embarrassing others, as MADMEN!

Secondly - There is no distinction between the various kinds of lie, that people tell. ALL LIES are a serious sin, with eternal consequences! "EVERYONE who loves and practices falsehood" will be excluded from the Kingdom of God! (Rev 22:15)

Thirdly - Deliberately setting out to find enjoyment in the embarrassment of friends (or enemies!) falls a long way short of the ROYAL LAW which says "you shall love your neighbor as yourself". (Matt 22:39; James 2:8)

Finally - Those who join in laughing at the victim, are no better in God's sight than the perpetrator of the LIE which contains the "joke"! (Rom 1:32)

So what do we do with this information? For those whose priority is to “seek first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness”, it would seem that the ONLY adequate answer is to REPENT! And seek FORGIVENESS!

After all ..... who wants to be on God’s list of MADMEN?

Allon