The Mockers and The Wise

Mike Hosey, Elder

Have you ever met a mocker? What about a scoffer? Or how about a scorner?

When we Christians think about these terms we usually think of atheists or secular minded people who want to make fun of our belief system. And this is a pretty good definition.

Mockers are not among those intelligent  people who have reasonable questions about our faith and practices, and who need to think about things, or analyze our claims for long periods of time.  They are not among those people who need to have discussions and debates before they can be convinced of the truth. Instead, they are people who will not listen to reason, and who refuse to see the truth. Their minds are made up, and their intent is to belittle how we believe.

They are dangerous, and it is wise to avoid them.

In fact, Proverbs 9:7 tells us that whoever tries to correct them will only receive abuse or injury.

There is a difference between the heart of the mocker and the heart of the wise man.  If you correct a mocker he will hate you. If you correct a wise man he will love you, and he will become wiser still (Proverbs 9:8-9).

Scoffers gonna scoff.

While it is very true that a  good working definition of a mocker includes certain kinds of atheists and secular minded people, it is unfortunate that they are not limited to those groups. Mockers can be found among those folks who claim Christianity.

You can spot them by their attitudes. Rather than having a discussion with you about the merits of your position, they would rather label you or deride you.  They will not consider reasonable biblical arguments if those arguments seem to deviate from their tradition. In truth, they are often steeped in tradition, and have endowed that tradition with greater warrant than it deserves. Because of this they can be very religious, and in many respects, not that different from the Pharisees of Jesus' day.

Regrettably, all of us can have a bit of that mocker in us. Proverbs 9:12 reminds us to beware of this, encouraging us that a pursuit of wisdom will reward us, but warning us that we alone will bear the personal consequences of our own mockery and scoffing.