Like a madman shooting firebrands or deadly arrows is a man who deceives his neighbour and says, "I was only joking!"
There is a sting to the humour, starkness in the contrast and seriousness in the consequences, which is what you get when you read Proverbs 26. Any way you cut it, the message in verses 18 & 19 is clear, deception is dangerously damaging.
Imagine a guy with a bazooka and an automatic rifle at Orchard Road shooting randomly into the crowd. Then he rushes to those he has shot and says, “Sorry, are you hurt? I didn’t mean it; please don’t take it personally.” You are right! That guy must be crazy. We will never do anything like that, right?
Let me be the first to say, “Guilty as charged”. There have been times when I was careless with my words, yet instead of making restitution for it, I have tried to cover it up with the phrase, “I was just joking”. The bible likens me to a madman, randomly shooting danger and pain into the people around me, and then trying to put a bandage on the wound with “humour”. Wouldn’t it be far better not to cause the wound in the first place? What do you think?
“He that sins in jest, must repent in earnest, or his sin will be his ruin.”
There is a sting to the humour, starkness in the contrast and seriousness in the consequences, which is what you get when you read Proverbs 26. Any way you cut it, the message in verses 18 & 19 is clear, deception is dangerously damaging.
Imagine a guy with a bazooka and an automatic rifle at Orchard Road shooting randomly into the crowd. Then he rushes to those he has shot and says, “Sorry, are you hurt? I didn’t mean it; please don’t take it personally.” You are right! That guy must be crazy. We will never do anything like that, right?
Let me be the first to say, “Guilty as charged”. There have been times when I was careless with my words, yet instead of making restitution for it, I have tried to cover it up with the phrase, “I was just joking”. The bible likens me to a madman, randomly shooting danger and pain into the people around me, and then trying to put a bandage on the wound with “humour”. Wouldn’t it be far better not to cause the wound in the first place? What do you think?
“He that sins in jest, must repent in earnest, or his sin will be his ruin.”
Matthew Henry
Ps Thomas Lim
