"Fools Mock at Sin"

Proverbs 14:9 tells us: "Fools mock at sin, but among the upright there is favor." The second half of this proverb is not difficult to understand. God offers His favor and grace to every human being, but only the upright benefit from it. This is not to say that human beings are perfect, although that is a worthy goal to have. What God appreciates is those who make the effort. Those who walk in the light maintain fellowship with God (1 John 1:7). Christians know they have not apprehended perfection, but they continue to reach forward to those things which are ahead, pressing toward the goal for the prize of the upward call in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:13-14).

But what does the first part of Proverbs 14:9 mean—that fools mock at sin? Don't fools mock the righteous? Well, yes, they certainly do. Those who try to live by moral principles have often been referred to as Bible thumpers. No, that's not a compliment. According to the Internet, a Bible thumper is a person who "expounds or follows the teachings of the Bible in an aggressively evangelical way." The implication is that they want to impose their morality on everyone else, although most Christians would simply answer, "We just want to stay true to the moral principles upon which this nation was founded." But this antagonistic attitude goes all the way back to the way the men of Sodom treated Lot when they told him: "This one came in to stay here, and he keeps acting as a judge…" (Gen. 19:9).

The righteous are often mocked, but how does someone mock sin? The mockery occurs by trying to minimize the seriousness of what sin is and the damage that it causes. Archie Bunker used to mock sin on All in the Family by referring to a pervert as a prevert. The audience would laugh because he did not know the proper way to pronounce the word; thus, even the idea of someone being a pervert was denigrated. Another way is by someone referring to bad behavior in a light-hearted way. "Why, you sinful little dickens, you." Some "Christians" in the first century may have mocked both righteousness and sin in the defense of their ungodly practices. They promised brethren liberty but made them slaves of corruption (2 Peter 2:19).

In trying to persuade people to their way of thinking, they probably argued, "You're a bunch of legalists and are failing to enjoy the liberties we have in Christ. I suppose you want to condemn your brothers and sisters as big sinners just for exercising their God-given freedoms. Sure, we're just awful; you can call us demons if it makes you feel better. Right. We're a congregation of preverted elders and demon deacons. We're all such sinnnnerrrs." In truth, sin is not a laughing matter, though some try to make it so. Jesus died because of our sins. Those who mock sin—well, Solomon already described them.