Mockery is not a virtue

Last time, I mentioned the subject of mockery. With it being such a widespread problem that most are not even trying to correct, I thought I should say more about it. It is most prominent on social media these days, so much so that I think  Elon Musk should have renamed Twitter, Mockery, instead of X. That Facebook should be called throw it their face book. Name any issue and there are probably thousands of social media accounts dedicated to it. I dare say a majority of the posts we actually see revolve around mocking the opposition, rather than educating about the issue. The worst part is, that social media algorithms encourage this. Mockery drives more log-in time and clicks than just about anything else. Which means more ad revenue for big tech. They are literally getting rich off of creating resentment and making you fret. (Psalm 37:1-2 & 8-9) We as the church should not be encouraging this for the sake of clicks. Yes, we need to stand up for the truth, but the moment we resort to mockery that truth gets blurred behind a toxic wall of negativity. Plus we violate the very truth we profess in doing so.

Those who guard their mouths and their tongues keep themselves from calamity.

The proud and arrogant person—“Mocker” is his name— behaves with insolent fury. -Proverbs 23:23-24 

But let me put this into perspective for you. So you will realize just how unrighteous it really is.  The average person is very much motivated by acceptance, approval, validation, and inclusion. A licensed counselor told me a majority of his patients are looking for just that. Manipulative people are well aware of this, so they know they can get you to do just about anything if they dangle acceptance for it before your nose like a dog treat. If somebody finds the resulting behavior ridiculous, the knee-jerk reaction of our sinful nature responds with mockery. In turn, this only pushes the manipulated back to the manipulator in search of another dose of validation. All because we chose to, and possibly enjoy being hurtful, rather than helpful. That’s not how you save souls, it’s how you lead people astray. (Matthew 18:6-7) This is exactly what we see playing out on social media. 

I said it before, but I can’t say it enough. Psychology confirms just how ineffective mockery is. They call it The Framing Effect. The idea is that information is often gauged more by how it is presented, instead of the actual validity of the facts. Just ask yourself, when someone treats you with contempt and disrespect, do you go out of the way to listen to their point of view? Or do you merely get all defensive? Yet the Bible told us all along, that truth is not a free pass to be a mocker. That mockery is not a virtue. A fact we often ignore or are just plain ignorant of. Ultimately every dimension of truth must be upheld, or it’s only a half-truth, and a half-truth can be just as destructive as a lie.

So again I ask you, to take a long hard look at yourself and your motivations. Ask yourself, do you mock to do what’s right, or just be right? Are you mocking to help, or just stick it to them? Who are we to correct the world, if our motivations are just as ugly as theirs?

The Visual PARABLEist

“How long will you who are simple love your simple ways?
How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge?
Repent at my rebuke! Then I will pour out my thoughts to you, I will make known to you my teachings. -Proverbs 1:22-23

If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you; if you are a mocker, you alone will suffer -Proverbs 9:12