Mock me no more!

Conflict is all around us, is it not?  The evening news is riddled with reports of conflict at its extreme - war, bombings, the taking of lives, and riots.  In a sense, we live in a world which is escalating in conflict more and more.  The chances of being railed upon by an angry shopper, or shot at in a random drive-by is greater today than it was thirty years ago.  Conflict is a state of being attacked, ridiculed, or derided - not always for a reason we understand or can justify.  Perhaps it is for our way of dressing, our spiritual beliefs, or our physical traits.  Regardless of the "source" of or "reason" for the conflict, it exists.  We run the chances of living WITH and IN conflict, don't we?

Remove the mocker and conflict disappears;  judgment and shame also stop. (Proverbs 22:10 CEB)
Solomon gives us insight into conflict - it carries with it two close companions: Judgment and Shame.  This makes sense when we understand mocking is the action of "making fun of" or ridiculing the other person's beliefs or actions.  When we mock someone we are "passing judgment" on their beliefs or actions - saying they are not right for some reason.  We are creating a sense of "shame" when we mock these beliefs or actions long enough - because what is heard long enough becomes the basis upon which people form their opinions of themselves and others.  

Conflict disappears when we remove the source of it.  Solomon tells us to remove the mocker - the one bringing the conflict.  In so doing, we see the companions (judgment and shame) take a hike!  We often see the evidence of the "companions" before we recognize their "leader".  What happens when we feel shame?  For some, we attempt to justify our actions.  When judgment is "passed" on some action on our part, we find it only natural to respond to it by justifying our actions.  It is the "Yeah, but..." phenomenon.  You know what I am speaking about - the moment we find ourselves in conflict and we respond, "Yeah, but if YOU hadn't .... then I wouldn't have .... "

There was a comedian years ago who's favorite catchphrase was, "The devil made me do it!"  Flip Wilson had a character he portrayed known as Geraldine Jones.  She was always getting into some mess, then quickly justifying the actions with this catchphrase he was so popular for.  As far back as I can see, mankind has been trying to justify their actions by blaming them on anyone else, including the devil!  

The message of our passage is clear - remove the mocker.  Sometimes this means we remove ourselves from the presence of those whose sole purpose in life seems to be bringing shame and passing judgment.  At other times, we may be the one who needs a little reality check - because we have been the ones mocking!  Neither place is a comfortable place to be - as the one being attacked, or the one who will be set apart because they have been the attacker.  

If we maintain company with the mockers, we will surely know conflict.  Mockers find it thrilling to "contend" with another.  It is a contest of the wills. They thrive on being "contradictory" in words and deeds.  In another translation of this verse, the idea of the mocker is equated to bullying anger.  In a society riddled with all kinds of "bullies", it is almost impossible not to run into them in one setting or another.  But...choosing to MAINTAIN company with them is really only inviting heaping doses of unwelcome judgment and shame.

Although it is not always easy to remove oneself from the company of the mocker, it may be the wisest.  Just sayin....

Count it all joy!

 ^7-8"Listen now, you who know right from wrong, you who hold my teaching inside you:  Pay no attention to insults, and when mocked don't let it get you down.  Those insults and mockeries are moth-eaten, from brains that are termite-ridden, but my setting-things-right lasts, my salvation goes on and on and on."

(Isaiah 51:7-8 The Message)

There are times when we just feel like the world is against us - like all we live for and stand for is just ridiculed and considered to be silliness in the eyes of those around us.  These are the times when we need to re-read these words and take heart.  The unbeliever has no revelation of God beyond our testimony of a life "squared up" by living the principles God teaches.  It is the testimony of one that can affect the lives of millions!

Do you realize that mockery is really the highest form of honor we can receive?  Think about it - someone sees our the testimony of Jesus in us and finds it so convicting that the only thing they can do is to attempt to counterfeit it!  That is a true definition of mockery - to attempt to imitate or counterfeit!  This has been the pattern with humankind from the beginning of time - if we cannot have the real thing, we just try to get as close to it as possible!  Why else do you think we have "generic" everything on the store shelves?  Not only is it an imitation of the real thing, but it costs less!

I was once told that people make fun of what they don't really understand.  That is indeed true, but I think they also find what they don't understand a little "threatening" to them!  Their attacks are attempts to ridicule or deride the testimony of Christ within our lives that are often undertaken because there is a "threat" in the reality of Jesus they see in us!  As long as they are only presented with an "imitation" or the "generic Jesus", there is no threat to their way of life.  When there is any evidence of the reality of Christ in a person's life, it affects those around them.  The natural outcome of living by the teachings of Christ, allowing them to affect our conduct, is that others will sense the reality of Christ in us and be convicted by the evidence they see.  

I recall hearing my pastor years ago ask the question, "If you run into a total stranger this week, what characteristic of Christ will be the first thing they recognize in your life?"  Now, being wired the way I am, I wanted to raise my hand and begin firing off answers!  You know, the "pat" answers that we all know - the answers like:  "The unconditional love of Jesus", "The grace of God", or "The sweetness of Jesus' willingness to accept the sinner".  You probably could make your own list.  The fact is, when I really began to think that one through later on, I found that the "pat answers" really weren't all that "pat"!

In fact, I found that I pretty much had "conditions" on my love, "grace" was sometimes the furthest from my inclinations toward another, and "accepting" a sinner was almost impossible because they just didn't "fit" in my life!  Ouch!  Ummm....can you say, "Conviction"?  As I began to be honest about my own short-comings, God began to work with that honesty.  I am far from being able to love without "strings" attached (conditions), but I am getting better at it.  I have a lot to learn about grace, but I find that the more of it I am recipient of, the easier it is to understand how much another needs that same "slack" in their lives.  Accepting sinners for who and what they are is much easier when I get the first two pretty much in alignment with God's expectations.

So, the next time you are mocked for your faith, I would encourage you to not feel affronted by that counterfeiting of your faith, or the criticism of it.  In fact, you might just want to turn to God and thank him for the evidence of his life that is obviously "making it to the surface" in yours!  It is that evidence that is bringing conviction into another's and that is what brings God's grace into the lives of those most desperate to receive it!