Proverbs 3:34 (CB)

He mocks proud mockers but shows favor to the humble and oppressed.

MOCKING THE MOCKERS. The mocker “wears a perpetual sneer.” His talent for cutting insults and invective looks like intellectual sophistication. Behind the mask is a vastly inflated confidence in his own opinion and intelligence. That is why here proud mockers are contrasted with the humble. Mockers are especially influential with the simple, among whom they often rise up to become ringleaders. In our current cultural atmosphere, the most socially sought after people are the greatest scoffers and debunkers. But there is nothing worse than looking up to mockers, who make it impossible for you to develop loyalty or reverence for anything. They do so not with heartfelt arguments but with sighs, snarky comments, and arched eyebrows. The final judgment on them is deadly and fitting: [The Lord] mocks proud mockers (3:34). He “opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5). The ultimate example is how God came into the world, not as a proud mocker but as one who is “meek and lowly in heart” (Matthew 11:29, KJV). Do you have any friends or people you admire who are mockers? Are you in any way drawn to them for this trait?

Prayer: Lord, the world tells us that the superconfident and self-promoting are the ones who get respect, but it’s only temporary. Actually, we reap what we sow. Lovers are loved, and mockers are mocked. Help me to remember this all day today. I so need it! Amen.