Ears To Hear # 34
WHY DO WE MAKE FUN
OF
OTHERS?
Making
fun of others is a bad habit and much more dangerous than we realize. It is worth talking to the
Lord about.
Think
of all the people you have made fun of.
When
we make fun of them, we are making fun of God. And, in His eyes, it is not funny.
Everyone
has little quirks, including ourselves. But often these little quirks are because of sensitive
areas in our lives.
I’m
not talking about the FUN we have with each other, perhaps laughing at ourselves, the antics of a small
child, the unusual things we see a puppy or kitten doing. At some point we should do a study on
PURE FUN.
But
today, we need to examine our hearts…as the Holy Spirit makes us aware of the damage caused
by Making Fun of God’s children.
If
what they are doing is wrong, missing the mark according to God’s Word, as we see it, or doing
things because they don’t know better, we can acknowledge these things to the Father. We
can pray for each other’s needs or areas of weakness, but we are not to Make Fun of them. It
is not funny.
I
certainly do not understand all of God’s Humor that He placed in us. Why we start laughing
when we hear or see something unusual. That too, is another subject to ponder later.
But,
I’m referring to EVIL LAUGHTER, the kind that makes Fun of what God created to be loved. The
kind that puts another down to lift up ourselves.
“Father,
when I make FUN of a brother or sister, I am making FUN of You. Please forgive me, and change
me. Repentance is turning from what we were doing, and going a different way.
“Father,
from now on, help me to know no man, woman, or child after the flesh, but by Your Spirit of Love.”
Wherefore henceforth
know we no man after the flesh: (2 Corinthians 4:16a).
SEEDS
Seeds! Tiny
seeds seldom seen until we dig deeper and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal them to us. Or sometimes,
He just brings them to the surface when we are least expecting them. But when He does, He is planning
to teach us something very important and we desire to know.
As
I laughed recently and made fun of someone I love, I realized that there was still bitterness in my
heart against that person. I heard it in my voice, and had I been in front of a mirror at that
time, I would have seen a sneer on my face. All I knew was that I didn’t like myself very
much after I had done this. Our Lord was so gracious to quicken my spirit and make me aware of
what I was doing. I thought I had forgiven this person, but by this simple revelation, the Holy
Spirit was showing me those tiny seeds that still remained.
The
world is full of crippled and damaged people. Would we Make Fun of a physical cripple? I
don’t think so. Would we be polite and show them respect after we understood that they didn’t
see themselves as handicapped or a lesser person than we are? Would we act like we were better
than them because we had strong bodies or no addictions? How often have we Made Fun of an alcoholic
without seeing their heart?
“Lord,
help us to look much deeper. Help us to love freely all of your children, the saved as well as
the currently unsaved. Not to pick and choose who we will love and respect…but to Respect
You, by showing them respect.
“Please
make us aware of who we have Made Fun of…and keep a watch over our hearts and mouths that we
may not offend any one.”
Set
a watch, O LORD, before
my
mouth; keep the door of my lips. (Psalms 141:3).
PUT
DOWNS
Every
time we put someone down, it just makes it that much harder for them to get up. We damage
their reputation in the eyes of the people who hear what we say. And when we Put them Down by
Making Fun of them, we not only are putting ourselves further away from God’s Grace towards us,
but we are putting God down, too. God forbid that we should do this anymore, now that we have
seen the light of God’s desire for all of us.
You
might like to take an inventory of people in your life. Make a list and also recall the words
you have used to Make Fun of them. It is usually the same words, so we can hear them loud an clear
when we think about it. Ask God to show you in each relationship, what your carnal mind (fed by
your number one enemy) is really saying.
As
I ran this little test for myself, I was surprised to find out that more than bitterness, unforgiveness,
or resentment…was the word “revenge”. It turned out to be an underhanded
type of revenge. And we know better than to try and avenge ourselves. We know who is
our Revenger…not ourselves. Do we really want to see them punished for what they have done
to us? We say they are our friends. We say we love them. Really?
Dearly beloved,
avenge not yourselves, but [rather] give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance [is] mine;
I will repay, saith
the Lord. (Romans 12:19).
Rejoice
not
when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth: Lest
the LORD see [it], and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him. (Proverbs 24:17-18).
A
HIGHER REVELATION
“WEAK SPOTS”
What
the devil meant for evil towards others as well as towards us, let’s turn to good. If we
see something in someone that we now recognize as a temptation to Make Fun of them, let me assure you…it
is a “weak spot” in them. They are probably much more aware of it than we are. And
if they knew we were Making Fun of that weak spot, it would hurt them more than we can imagine. If
we said it to their face, in most cases they would laugh with us…but what do they think about
it when they are alone?
What
an excellent opportunity to turn this “weak spot” into an avenue of prayer…just
between us and God. What an opportunity to practice finding a way to show this person respect
for a different area in their life where they are strong.
We
may say, “Oh, they know I was just kidding.” Well, I’m telling you this is much
more lethal than it appears on the surface. If there is any chance that we are hurting someone
we love, I think it is well worth looking into. Ask the Lord for yourself.
Let’s
ask God to change our hearts and motives, so that our words will no longer be hurtful…but helpful. True
Friends.
