Proverbs 26:18-19

The book of Proverbs gives us insights into so many different areas of life. The book gives us instruction on how to live our lives for God. Here is a proverb that gives us insight about the tongue:

Proverbs 26:18-19 (NASV)

Like a madman who throws

 Firebrands, arrows and death,

 So is the man who deceives his neighbor,

And says, “ Was I not joking?”

Proverbs 26:18-19 (ESV)

Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death

is the man who deceives his neighbor

and says, “I am only joking!”

Sarcasm and rude, coarse jesting is a matter of life in today's society.   When the era of "sitcoms" hit the television viewing audience we were introduced to an ever growing view of "put-down" humor.   We have a constant bombardment of ridicule from cartoons for kids to cartoons for adults, all of which increases the desire to get the same response from others.   Solomon is telling us that this act of tossing "jokes" at each other, at the expense of the hearer, is like tossing arrows at them.   Poor joking is deception.   It is the world we live in today.   We are being deceptive, harmful and mad when we do such things to others.   Paul calls it coarse jesting and tells us it is not befitting for believers (Eph. 4:5).  Jesus tells us to let our "yes" be "yes" and our "no" be "no."   We are not to be using our speech to hurt others.   We are to use our tongue to bring peace and strength to others.   Don't use your tongue to get a laugh from others at the expense of others.    You may think it is funny.  To them it is like being hit by firebrands, arrows and death.  It robs people of enjoyment of life because it focuses on some negative aspect of life. You might enjoy the put-down, but to them it is an arrow in the back.