WISDOM FOR LIVING DAILY DEVOTIONAL
APRIL 10, 2021
TOPIC: DON’T MOCK ANYONE
BY T. O. BANSO
“And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’” (Matthew 27:29 New King James Version).
Once in a while, we see or hear people mocking others. They ridicule or deride them. They laugh at them because of their situations, showing that they are better than they are. They want people to treat them with contempt. Nobody deserves to be mocked; nobody should be mocked.
Don’t mock anyone because of his physical look – he could be short or tall, blind, etc. He could have a physical disability. He could be poor. He could still be waiting on God for a child. You could be more successful than him or you have achieved more than he has. Don’t mock him.
Those who mock others for not having children yet could be described as one of the most ungrateful persons on earth. What did they do to deserve the children they have? Did they have children because they were more righteous or they’re holier than those yet to have children?
Have we not seen those who have done series of abortions in the past yet had no delay in having children when they got married while those who married as virgins are still trusting God for their first child? How do you explain that? That is not justifying abortion, which is murder.
Mockers, which examination did you pass that those who have no children failed and because of that have no children yet? How much did you pay God to give you children, which those who are yet to have children couldn’t pay? Don’t mock anyone.
People could be poor; don’t mock them. No matter the features you have seen in people, which you think put them at a disadvantage, don’t mock them. You’re not their Maker and you cannot predict what can happen to them or to you. Sometimes things change for people and for those who mock them too. Be careful. Don’t mock anyone. It is not the Spirit of Christ.
1 Samuel 1:2 says Elkanah had two wives, Peninnah and Hannah. Whereas Peninnah had children, Hannah had none. Verse 6 says Peninnah used to provoke Hannah severely, to make her miserable, because the LORD had closed her womb. That was a wicked behavior by Peninnah. Wasn’t it God that gave her children?
As I’ve said, don’t mock anyone you think you’re better than today. Things can change for them at any time. What you see of them today is not the end. God does change the stories of people. He did for Hannah. God soon answered Hannah. He gave her Samuel whom she gave to the Lord to serve under Eli (1 Samuel 1:19-20; 24-28). In addition, God gave her more children.
Proverbs 21:24 says, “Mockers are proud and haughty; they act with boundless arrogance” (New Living Translation). Hear some part of Hannah’s prayer subsequently, “Talk no more so very proudly; let no arrogance come from your mouth, for the LORD is the God of knowledge; and by Him actions are weighed. The bows of the mighty men are broken, and those who stumbled are girded with strength. Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, and the hungry have ceased to hunger. Even the barren has borne seven, and she who has many children has become feeble” (1 Samuel 2:5 New King James Version).
Hannah continued: “The LORD kills and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and brings up. The LORD makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and lifts up. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the beggar from the ash heap, to set them among princes and make them inherit the throne of glory” (verses 6-8a New King James Version).
Peninnah must have been ashamed when God opened the womb of Hannah to bear children. You don’t know tomorrow. Therefore, don’t mock anyone. Proverbs 17:55 says, “Those who mock the poor insult their Maker; those who rejoice at the misfortune of others will be punished” (New Living Translation). I think that’s also true about those who mock people who are yet to have children because it is God who gives children even when modern science assists.
Don’t mock anyone. David spoke about how he was mocked: “But they are glad now that I am in trouble; they gleefully join together against me. I am attacked by people I don’t even know; they hurl slander at me continually. They mock me with the worst kind of profanity, and they snarl at me” (Psalm 35:15-16 New Living Translation). The writer of Psalm 102 was also mocked. He said, “My enemies taunt me day after day. They mock and curse me. I eat ashes instead of my food. My tears run down into my drink” (verses 8-9 New Living Translation).
If not that Abigail promptly intervened, David would have killed her husband, Nabal who mocked him instead of politely turning down his request for assistance or granting his request (1 Samuel 25:10-11). He didn’t have to speak those unkind words in the presence of the young men David sent to Him, particularly that David and his men had treated Nabal’s shepherds well when they were in Carmel.
The men of Succoth and Penuel were not that fortunate after mocking Gideon who had no yet captured Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian he was pursuing. They said they would not give him loaves of bread for his men because he had not yet captured the two kings (Judges 8:5-9).
After capturing the two kings, Gideon returned to punish his mockers. He taught the elders of Succoth a lesson by punishing them with thorns and briers from the wilderness and knocked down the tower of Peniel and killed all the men in the town (verses 15-17). Proverbs 19:29 says, “Mockers will be punished, and the backs of fools will be beaten” (New Living Translation).
Don’t mock anyone. The prophet Isaiah said, “I give my back to those who beat me and my cheeks to those who pull out my beard. I do not hide from shame, for they mock me and spit in my face” (Isaiah 50:6 New Living Translation). The prophet Jeremiah appealed to God concerning those mocking him. “Look at them! In all their activities, they constantly mock me with their songs” (Lamentation 3:63 New Living Translation).
Similarly, Daniel prayed to God concerning Jerusalem, which the enemies mocked. He said, “In view of all your faithful mercies, Lord, please turn your furious anger away from your city of Jerusalem, your holy mountain. All the neighboring nations mock Jerusalem and your people because of our sins and the sins of our ancestors” (Daniel 9:16 New Living Translation).
Even when you think people are suffering for their sins, don’t mock them. Leave God to deal with them. He doesn’t need your assistance. “Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; Lest the LORD see it, and it displease Him, and He turn away His wrath from him” (Proverbs 24:17-18 New King James Version).
God pardons sins and His anger does not last forever (Micah 7:18; Psalms 103:9; 30:5). If those who are suffering from their sins repent, God will forgive them. So, where does that leave those mocking them? That’s why Micah 7:8 says, “Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; when I fall, I will arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD will be a light to me” (New King James Version).
Don’t mock anyone. In 2 Kings 2, the Bible tells us how some children at Bethel mocked the prophet Elisha and the consequences. “Then he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up the road, some youths came from the city and mocked him, and said to him, ‘Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!’ So he turned around and looked at them, and pronounced a curse on them in the name of the LORD. And two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths’” (2 Kings 2:23-24 New King James Version).
These children died prematurely. What concerned them about Elisha’s bald head? They had no respect for an older person and the office of a prophet. Probably they also didn’t believe that Elijah had been taken to heaven and, therefore, mocked Elisha, his successor, to follow him. They showed contempt for him and suffered for it. Don’t mock the anointed even if he has a natural infirmity, physical deformity, or any other defect. Don’t know him in the flesh. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:16, “Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer” (New King James Version).
Don’t mock the anointed or a child of God because he is down. No. he will rise again. His God will not forsake Him. Where will you hide your face when he rises again? “For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again, but the wicked shall fall by calamity” (Proverbs 24:16 New King James Version).
Telling His disciples ahead about His crucifixion, Jesus said He would be delivered to the Gentiles and would “be mocked and insulted and spit upon” (Luke 18:32 New King James Version). The Bible tells us how at His trial and execution, He was mocked. Roman soldiers mocked Him (Matthew 27:27-34; Mark 15:16-20). They ridiculed Him.
The passers-by also mocked Him (Matthew 27:39-40; 47; Mark 15:29-30). In addition, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders mocked Him (Matthew 27:41-43; Mark 15:31-32). One of the criminals crucified with Him also mocked Him (Luke 23:39). They all thought that was the end of Jesus. Don’t mock anyone when he is going through a difficult season or facing a serious challenge in life. If you can’t help him, don’t ridicule or deride him. Don’t laugh at him or say unkind words.
Don’t mock anyone. You may have to eat back your words! Be careful what you’re seeing may not be the last chapter of their lives. The Roman soldiers mocked Jesus. Matthew 27:29 says, “And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” (New King James Version). That’s just one of the things they did.
But see what happened after Jesus breathed His last: “The Roman officer and the other soldiers at the crucifixion were terrified by the earthquake and all that had happened. They said, ‘Truly, this was the Son of God!’” (Matthew 27:54 New Living Translation). They must have regretted mocking Jesus. His mockers didn’t know that after the crucifixion, there is resurrection. He rose three days later and they were all put to shame.
Shimei mocked David and cursed him as he fled Jerusalem after the revolt of Absalom, his son. He said many things to ridicule David but David stopped his men from killing him (2 Samuel 16:7-13). But when the revolt was crushed and David was returning to Jerusalem to take back his throne, Shimei came to eat back his words and to beg that his life should be spared (2 Samuel 19:18-23). David forgave him but he didn’t forget!
Job 36:5 says, “God is mighty, yet he does not despise anyone! He is mighty in both power and understanding” (New Living Translation). Don’t despise or mock anyone. If you’re a mocker, stop it. Be careful what you say. No condition is permanent. Don’t be a mocker; don’t sit in the assembly of the mockers (Jeremiah 15:17). Don’t mock anything pertaining to God. The Bible says that there would be mockers/scoffers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts (Jude 18).
TAKE ACTION!
If you are not born again, you need to give your life to Jesus now. I urge you to take the following steps: *Admit you are a sinner and you cannot save yourself and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your life. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church. There they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.
Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto you today. I know I am a sinner and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and resurrected the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I surrender my life to Jesus now and invite Him into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank you, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.
I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You will need to join a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church in your area where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like the palm tree and grow like the cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The Lord be with you.
PRAYER POINTS: Father, You are mighty, yet You don’t despise anyone. Help me to emulate You and not despise or mock anyone, including Your servants. Let me no call what is holy unholy or what is clean unclean. Holy Spirit, help me to encourage those who are disadvantaged rather than mock them. Help me, Holy Spirit, to be grateful to God rather than be proud or arrogant. Father, hear the cries of those who are looking unto You for children or other lacks in their lives and wipe away their tears.
(For about 600 in-depth and powerful messages by T. O. Banso, visit www.cedarministry.org).
T. O. Banso is the President, Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
Phone No: +2348155744752, +2348033113523
WhatsApp No: +2349081295947
Email: cedarministryintl@yahoo.com,
cedarministryng@gmail.com
Website: www.cedarministry.org
