Proverbs 14:9

The book of Proverbs gives us a lot of instruction on a lot of different subjects. One subject that can keep us in God’s wisdom is Godly Follower-ship. Who we follow; where we follow; how we follow are all spoken about in Proverbs. Here is one of them about our response about sin:

Proverbs 14:9 (ESV)

Fools mock at the guilt offering,

but the upright enjoy acceptance.

How does a fool "mock at sin?"  Fools do not take heart that their lives are an offense to a righteous God.   They do not mourn, they do not repent at the mention that their actions are missing the mark of a holy and just God.  Fools rather laugh in the face of sin ... using a jesting manner to diminish the seriousness of their actions.   Fools, rather than look at sin in the face and deal with it appropriately, would rather jest.  They may just make a coarse joke and pass it off as part of their personality or, tritely, tells us, "That's just the way I am."  They dare not look at it seriously; for then they would be forced to repent and deal with the sin in sorrow and change their ways.  They pass sin off as part of the new norm of society ... "everyone is doing it" is their motto.  In opposition of the fool is the upright person. They are not upright due to their "perfect" life.  But, because they repent of their sin and find "favor" (good will) from God.  This is a result of their repentance.  God is a gracious God and tells us if we confess our sin (agree with God that we missed the mark of His righteousness) we will receive forgiveness for those sins (1 John 1:9).   That confession ushers in God's good will into our lives.   The implication is that the fool will miss that good will and favor of God and therefore be condemned in his mockery.   We seldom see sinners repent.  Josiah, the young King of Judah, read God's Word and repented in sackcloth and ashes (2 Kings 24).  The Ninavites, much to Jonah's frustration, heard that God's wrath about to come onto their lives and stopped the laughter and began to weep.   God will forgive, but only when we take sin seriously in our lives and recognize that it is, indeed, sin. It is not simply a mis-step in a flawed personality.  Don't mock sinful actions.  Take them serious and obtain God grace and forgiveness.  Let's avoid mocking sin like this:

1. Justify it

2. Ignore it

3. Laugh it off

4. Rationalize it

5. Excuse it

6. Accept it

7. Blame others for it

8. Count it as part of your heritage

9. Believe it is harmless

10. Use it for entertainment