Fools Make a Mock at Sin

The world is a perverse place, where anything goes for those who have no mind of the Lord those who have seared their consciences with the hot fire as the bible says. (1 Ti 4:2)

Many a one too has been basking on the civilization that has overtaken the world to do what is untoward to their neighbor and thence allowing sin to continue unabated in the world. This makes sin to grow in the world thereby bringing to pass what Jesus says that, “and because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” (Mat 24:12). Many of the supposed believers in the Lord Jesus Christ now has their love for Christ, truth, righteousness waxing cold because iniquity has abounded in the world.

I shall be talking on the first part of verse nine of proverb chapter fourteen in this article which says that “fools make a mock at sin….” (Pro 14:9a)

The Yoruba translation of the bible and the revised standard version of the bible however translates this verse this way, “the foolish makes a mock at guilt (of sin) …”

Fools would make mockery of sin to give themselves self-satisfaction.

Let us try and define some of the words that in the above topic to help our grasp of the topic.

“Fools make a mock at sin….” (Pro 14:9a)

Fool is defined by Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary as a person who you think behaves or speaks in a way that lacks intelligence or good judgment. The Hebrew word for fool is “אויל”, Romanized form is 'ĕvı̂yl (pronounced as ev-eel') which means to be perverse, silly.

Mock is defined by Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary as to show no respect for something. The Hebrew word for mock here is “לוּץ”, when Romanized it becomes lûts (phonetic spelling is loots) which means make mouths, scoff, scorn.

Sin is defined as an offence against god or against a religious or moral law. The sin as contained in this verse is in Hebrew written as “אשׁם”, Romanized form is 'âshâm (pronounced as aw-shawm') which means a fault, sin offering, guiltiness, trespass.

Having seen some of the definitions of the key words in the topic shall we thence look at the topic in details under these headings: why do fools do this and how do they mock sin?

This question tries to find an answer to why fools decide to mock sin, having known that sin is doing what is not morally okay what the people living in the society consider aberration. Is it because of their senses that is low or due to some other reasons? The bible who is our guideline shall help us out in this.

When we know the characteristics of some things according to the scientists, we shall not be surprised at how those things react. Take the case of Covid-19 as example, knowing its characteristics on human bodies have allowed the scientists and medical personnel to proffer some means of curbing and or limiting the effect of the pandemic in the society and the world. in the same wise when we know the characteristic of fools we shall not be surprised when we see them do some things or say some things in the society.

Some fools are senseless beings, the only thing with which they can be compared with is animals, brutes as the apostles put it. They act and speak in a way that lacks intelligence as the dictionary puts it. In this part of the world some fools are considered to be insane people, those who should be in psychiatric hospital and not allowed to mix with the normal human beings.

We see an example of a mad person in the bible whom Jesus healed, and we can discover that the person lives not among the normal people but was living in the wilderness, living on the rock talking to himself and the demons that surrounded him alone.

“Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains:

“Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him.

“And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.” (Mar 5:3-5)

This class may be considered the highest order of foolishness.

The bible makes us see another class of fools this class of fools unlike the earlier one that lives on the mountain and in the psychiatric wards in chains, these ones live among the people and they are those who say there is no God.

“The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.” (Psa 14:1)

David in his interaction with the people have discovered that there are certain sets of people in the community and during his movements in the world who do not believe in the existence of God. Those class of people said so in their hearts he says but by their expressed actions one can discover too that they say there is no God.

We cannot expect a person who says there is no God not to mock sin, because the morals that the people of the world follow today is essentially set for all through the Law God gave prophet Moses for the people and by that we know that something is right and something is wrong, a person who says there is not God could not subscribe to those moral laws because he would think we are disturbing ourselves.

Apostle Paul summarizes this in this saying that he has not known sin if not by law, he has not known moral standards if not by the given law that says this is wrong and that is right.

“What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.” (Rom 7:7)

King Solomon makes us see some other types of fools and they are those who are hasty to be angry. Those kind of fool people are hasty in getting angry not because they are meek before, but because anger rests in their hearts.

“Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.” (Ecc 7:9)

Unlike other people who have love in their hearts, who have faith in their heart, who have obedience in their hearts, who have endurance in their hearts, who have patience in their hearts but what is in the hearts of this kind of foolish people is anger. That is why they are prone to become annoyed at any slightest provocation, they would flare up and started talking anyhow, abusing people and eventually turn it to fight in some cases.

The word rest in Hebrew in this verse is “נוּח”, the Romanized form is nûach (pronounced as noo'-akh) which means settle down, dwell, remain. In the hearts of the fools according to King Solomon, what dwells there is anger.

The word anger in Hebrew is “כּעשׂ כּעס”, Romanized form is ka‛as ka‛aś (pronounced as kah'-as, kah'-as) which means indignation, provocation, spite, sorrow, wrath. This kind of people are man of sorrow, they are man of grief. They grief over many things and all things. What they should take lightly they would not take lightly, and they would turn it to something else.

Little wonder that some people are not enjoying their relationship, they are not enjoying it because what resides in the heart of their partner is wrath, sorrow and indignation. He is never a happy man. When people are happy, he will be sorrowful when people are laughing, he wouldn’t laugh because in his heart is deep sited sorrow.

They are those who cannot rule their spirit, they cannot put their spirit under control. And because they find it hard to put their spirit under control they have problems, they speak whatever comes to their mouths without checking it, without proof reading it.

“He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.” (Pro 16:32)

In an American movie, 24 hours that I used to watch I see the main actor there calming himself when he wants to attack the terrorists because failure to control himself the terrorist would overpower him and kill him.

He that cannot control himself and his spirit will be moved to anger in a jiffy and indubitably say untoward things to God and what he has established in the world.

Jesus painted a foolish person to us while talking about covetousness to his disciples and by extension those of us who are his followers now. When he says a farmer, who has been farming for long discovers that in a year his farm yielded a lot and instead of acknowledging God and think about how he would be of assistance unto others nigh by, all he thinks about was himself, saying “I, I, …I”, alone.

“And he said unto them, take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

“And he spake a parable unto them, saying, the ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:

“And he thought within himself, saying, what shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?

“And he said, this will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.

“And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.

“But God said unto him, thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

“So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” (Luk 12:15-21)

This thought of his, Jesus said God considered act of covetousness, an act that does not think about others, when we do not think of others how shall we think about God that we do not see.

“If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” (1 Jn 4:20)

No one possessing these characteristics would act sanely among the populace.

Having seen their characteristics let us now look at some of the ways whereby they mock sins in the society that this author is talking about.

When the fools are told that what they are doing is not right, they wouldn’t admit instead of admitting that such is wrong they will point you out to those who are doing the same thing, and would say it is because they have been caught in the act, or because they have been arrested that they can say it is not right, but there are thousands of people out there who indulge in the same act but who are not caught. “It is the caught persons who are thieves”, they would say but those not caught are saint. They sneer at correction by these utterances instead of admitting them.

Like Cain who sneered at the correction of God when his sins were pointed out to him in the first world before it was being wiped away by God, so do the fools today.

“And the LORD said unto Cain, where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?” (Gen 4:9)

He is here in telling God that he has not said he should be watching over his brother obviously wanting to justify himself before the omnipotent, omniscience and omnipresent God, forgetting that he sees everywhere at once. That is how fools behave, they will raise a question to silence whatsoever anyone is saying to point out their sins.

As basis for their continuing in sin, when their sins have been shown unto them, they will tell those people that they are giving alms regularly to tell that they are satisfying some people’s needs. They obviously by this statement are saying that it is from the evil machinations that they get what they possess to be offering as alms to people.

Like Aaron trying to justify his act for creating and carving out idols for the people of God when prophet was on the mountain so are those people, they will say something to give them a soft landing for what they have done that is not in tandem with the will of God.

“And Moses said unto Aaron, what did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them?

“And Aaron said, let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief.

“For they said unto me, make us gods, which shall go before us: for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.

“And I said unto them, whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf.” (Exo 32:21-24)

Like Achan that puts the children of Israel in a tight condition when he stole what he shouldn’t steal kept mute when the people are being killed by a small country so are those people they would pretend as if they are not concerned about what is going on when the evil has taken over the place, they would be saying within them that it may be something else that caused what is happening unless their secrets are been revealed by the Holy Spirit. (Jos 7)

They make a light of sin when they are being confronted that they are given pastors and other religious leaders money. I have heard of a story of a man who was a thief and who went to a pastor to give him huge money, the pastor refused the money claiming that he did not know him neither what he does for a living. However, the man was said to go to another pastor and the pastor receives the money.

Such people when they hear the message of the cross would not wish to be changed because he is given pastors money and they are accepting it without asking to know the source of his wealth.

As a means of scoffing at sins, the fools will tell you about different religious houses they have built across the globe. This is to tell you that assuming it is not good someone out of those leaders and pastors of those establishments ought to have corrected him that it is not good.

As if God can be bribed by the humanitarian services, they will tell you of their myriad humanitarian outlets, what they do to alleviate the suffering of the people. They will tell you how they have arisen to save some states during the covid-19 outbreak, what they do, what they have spent. This is done to silence the person telling them of their sins that he should shut up after all he is using it for the benefit of mankind. They are in the oblivion that God does not value that what he values is the salvation of their hearts.

They will tell you that they are not sure that God is actually judging evil for assuming he is judging evil he should have judged some people and until he judges such people he would not change his disposition about what he is doing.

“Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.” (Ecc 8:11)

In their talk with you they will ask if you have ever seen anyone who goes to heaven and come back to the world. All this paradise and hell issue, heaven and lake of fire issue are fabricated, they are fictitious designed by people to make you fear some unseen being not to allow you to enjoy yourself and your life. Thus, they would add that as for them they will “enjoy the life to the fullest because they do not know what tomorrow holds and there is not tomorrow”.

They will point you to people who ought to judge rightly but who have perverted judgment, and say if those people could pervert judgment that it is certain too that God will also collect bribe in heaven when he wants to judge them and would overlook their misdeeds. Because what we do in the world they also do in heaven, heaven is a replica of what will happen in the world beyond they would say.

“And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there.” (Ecc 3:16)

1. We Need not be Fools: Having seen some of the ways in which the foolish people could make a mockery of sin when being pointed out to them it is expedient that we be shown that God does not want us to be fools but he wants us to be wise people, those who believe there is God and who do not scoff at sins but become sober when their sins are being shown unto them and seek for repentance in prayers and fasting as King David did on the case of Uriah the Hittite. (2 Sam 12)

2. God Wants us for Himself: It should be noted that God wants us for himself, that is why he sends his only begotten son into the world to die for us, so that we shall neither scoff at sins again nor be perished. The onus is now on you and I to accept this propitiation offering of Yahweh by accepting Jesus Christ into our lives.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

“For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” (Joh 3:16-17)

3. He Implores us to Walk with the Wise: He says those that be in the companion of the fools are ultimately heading for destruction because they shall be destroyed but those who walk with the wise shall be wise. We are being called to walk with the wise so that we shall be wise.

“He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.” (Pro 13:20)

to be made light or rather than being mourned over. Fools mock at sin offering, but those that make light of sin make light of Jesus Christ. We shouldn’t be companion of fools, but we should be companion of the wise people, those who fear God, follow his wills and point others to Christ Jesus.