na- na- NA- na- na

Have you heard that chant before? The one in the title of the blog? I used it when I was a little kid. I would place my thumbs (one on the right side of my forehead and the other on the left side of my forehead) and wiggle all my fingers at the intended target. Once in a while, I would stick my tongue out for good measure just to make sure my message was received. The gesture is called mocking. And though no mature adult mocks like what I described, people do mock God. It is a serious offense committed by those who have no fear of God, deny His existence, or ignore His Word. The most easily recognized form of mockery is disrespect typified by verbal insults or other acts of disdain. When I hear mocking, I associated it with ridicule, scoffing, and defiance. If you are a Christian, at some point, you have personally experienced being mocked or at least your faith has been criticized, attacked, or maligned by the general public.

In the Bible, mockery is a behavior and attitude shown by six types of people.
1. The fool (Psalm 74:22.)
2. The wicked (Psalm 1:1).
3. The enemy (Psalm 74:10).
4. The hater of knowledge (Proverbs 1:22; 13:1).
5. The proud (Psalm 119:51; Isaiah 37:17)
6. The unteachable (Proverbs 15:12).
A mocker goes beyond mere lack of judgment to make a conscious decision for evil. Mockers are without a spirit of obedience, teachability, discernment, wisdom, worship, or faith. They are rebellious. Haters of the Word of God. Those who mock God will mock the people of God as well. The prophet Jeremiah "became the laughingstock of all my people" and was mocked "in song all day long" (Lamentations 3:14). Mockery of God's prophets was commonplace (2 Chronicles 36:16). Nehemiah was mocked by his enemies (Nehemiah 2:19). Elisha was mocked by the youths of Bethel (2 Kings 2:23). And of course our Lord Jesus was mocked—by Herod and his soldiers (Luke 23:11), by the Roman soldiers (Mark 15:20; Luke 23:36), by a thief on a cross (Luke 23:39), and by the Jewish leaders who passed by the cross (Matthew 27:41). Those that IGNORE God mock God. Their mantra sounds something like this, "I don't need you, believe you, or want you." Ignoring God, rejecting God, discarding His word as fiction is the same as thumbing your nose at Him.

It is easy for us as believers to point the finger at those outside the church who mock God. But Christians aren't off the hook. The most subtle mockery of God and the most danger comes from those of us sitting in church! We are guilty of mockery when we behave with an outward show of spirituality or godliness without an inward engagement or change of heart. To mock God is to pretend to love and serve him when we really don't. It's unfortunate but I see it everywhere! Mocking is also to act in a false manner, to be insincere and hypocritical in our professions, pretending to obey Him, love, serve, and worship Him when we do not. Mocking God grieves the Holy Spirit and sears the conscience, and thus the bands of sin become stronger and stronger. The heart becomes gradually hardened by such a process. God warns that mockery of what is holy will be punished. Zephaniah predicted the downfall of Moab and Ammon, saying, "This is what they will get in return for their pride, for insulting and mocking the people of the LORD Almighty" (Zephaniah 2:10). Isaiah 28:22 warns that mockery will cause the chains of Judah's sin to become stronger and that destruction will follow. Proverbs 3:34 says that God will mock the mocker but give favor to the humble and oppressed. Second Kings 2:24 records the punishment that befell the youths who jeered Elisha.

There are repercussions for ignoring God's directives and willfully choosing sin. Adam and Eve tried it and brought sorrow and death into the world (Genesis 2:15–17; 3:6, 24). Ananias and Sapphira's deception brought about a swift and public judgment (Acts 5:1–11). Galatians 6:7 states a universal principle: "Do not be deceived: God is not mocked. A man reaps what he sows." God cannot be deceived (Hebrews 4:12–13). Achan's sin (Joshua 7) and Jonah's flight (Jonah 1) were not unknown to God. Jesus' repeated words to every church in Revelation 2—3 were, "I know your works." Proverbs 15:3 should grab our attention, "The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good." How many reading did not know that was in the Bible? Simply said, GOD IS WATCHING. We only deceive ourselves when we think our attitudes and actions are not seen by an all-powerful and all-knowing God. The Bible shows us the way to live a blessed life, sometimes by the good examples of godly men and women and sometimes by the negative examples of those who choose to follow another path. Psalm 1:1–3 says, "Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers."
Until next time,
-Pat-