A rifle ball doesn’t look like much until you fire it out of a rifle.”
–Cliff Hudgins (Viejo and the Outlaw)
“Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk, or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.”
–Ephesians 5:4 (NIV)
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“To do evil is like sport to a fool, but a man of understanding has wisdom.” –Proverbs 10:23(NKJV)
“Doing wrong is like a joke to a fool, but wisdom is pleasure to a man of understanding.” (ESV)
“Fools enjoy doing wrong, but anyone with good sense enjoys acting wisely. (CEV)
Here we see another characteristic of a fool to add to your list. Look around you, look at social media and you will find a host of fools. Watch talk shows and the fools are quickly seen. We read in Galatians 5:19-21, a list of the things a fool mocks. Those characteristics and lifestyles that God abhors are the very things that a fool breaks out into an insidious grin and jokes about them. The mind takes pleasure in evil conduct and thoughts, and that’s where the fool finds pleasure.
I have never been one who cared for pranks. They are devised to hurt someone in some way. In regard to this day’s study, that is the character of a fool–a prankster, one with evil intent in his joking. He makes sport out of mischief; he laughs at others’ misfortunes. Fools mock at sin, “Fools mock at sin…” (Proverbs 14:9, NKJV), they jest at the things of God, they make mockery and jokes of His holy name. The fool is dangerous to be around, he is not one to associate with. J.L. Flores states, “The fool who thinks sin is a laughing matter will not hesitate to commit sin himself, or to do his brother the irreparable mischief of leading him in the path of sin and death.”
The fool makes light of sin; he characterizes it into large and small–the small white lie and the large black lie. They mock those who follow God’s moral precepts and they take glee in hurting others (i.e., Kimmel referring to the First Lady as a widow), then saying it was all in fun, a joke–FOOL! “I was only joking,” is the excuse to make light of hurtful and sinful comments. “Nothing proclaims a man to be a fool so plainly as his mockery of sin.” (Flores) There is a seriousness to life, yes, enjoy it, but do not make fun of the things of God or the plight of others. “The difference between the lost and the saved is,” according to Samuel Miller, “that to one it is but trifling to live; to the other it is the gravest wisdom.”
To be a mocker, a jester, is according to Lawson, an “advanced stage of folly.” Sport now, but one day there will be severe consequences. This man, this fool, has the devil for his playmate. He dances well with his partner, his folly. (John Trapp) I recall two men on crosses with Christ. Both mocked, but then one realized the seriousness of his circumstances and the Man on the cross next to him. The one to whom Jesus spoke went to paradise, the other mocker–the fool–went to perdition. See, salvation brings understanding. Salvation brings a change and renewal to our mind. Wisdom is an enjoyment; seeking God’s truth is a true endeavor of life. The person of wisdom understands the seriousness of the fool’s actions. There is a huge difference in the maturity level of the person with wisdom and the fool. The man of understanding, the wise, knows the importance of life, and as the writer of Hebrews states, “I have come to do your will, O God.” (10:7, NIV)