Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death is the man who deceives his neighbour and says, "I am only joking!"

Do you know of a person who carelessly jokes about another person without caring for the person's feelings? Know of anyone who puts people down just for the sake of it, to make others laugh at the person's expense or simply because you think the person is a pain in the butt? Have you witnessed any division in a clique, group, organisation just because of a stupid joke that someone made out of another individual?

I happen to know such a person and I find it hard to reconcile with that revelation of this bible verse when I first saw it several years ago because I saw myself doing such a thing. I loved to make jokes out of others. Young and ignorant then? Perhaps. Yet I find it no excuse especially when I do not want to be the butt of the joke myself. It is so easily to brush away the other person's feelings with simplY a "I was only joking" or in the singlish term "wah lau, joking only mah, so serious for what? Like that also cannot take, so petty!" but we realise that is not what the bible teaches us. These jokes equates firebrands, arrows and DEATH! My words are worthless and not worth considering but I believe God's Words states the truth. If this kind of attitude is alright, then I trust that it will not end up in the bible which is God's legacy for us, isn't it? It is not about whether we ourselves can take that kind of joke or not. Its about God's view on such hurtful jokes.

Many years later, I saw this verse again and I remember how it impacted me but as the years went by, I forgot the meaning of it until recently. Someone was made the joke and I actually felt his pain. Even though he did not reveal that pain, I felt it from his lack of resistance. Trust me, many others felt it except those who made him the joke perhaps. Thank God he bounced back but we are not always so blessed are we? Guess what will be written in God's Book of Life for us if we caused someone to fall away because of a stupid joke we made? I seriously don't want to know. However, it was a wake up call for me as I realised that through the years, as the impact of the verse dissipates in my heart, I was laughing at the expense of others again...and the incident has made me think twice. Of course, I am not saying that we should be all serious all the time but perhaps the jokes we spill out of our mouth or sometimes hands should be considered more carefully. Do the jokes build up or tear down? Is it really as harmless as it seems?

LET'S CONSIDER OUR WORDS AND ACTIONS SERIOUSLY BEFORE WE MAKE ANY COMMENTS OR DO ANYTHING.

Remember: "love = edification = think before you speak = don't talk if it does not build up the person"